A salon chair is an elegant upholstered open armchair or side chair designed for a drawing room or reception room, especially in the French manner. The term is closely associated with the fauteuil, the open-armed chair with padded seat, back and arm rests that furnished the salons of eighteenth-century Paris, and with later suites made in that style.
French salon chairs were produced in two broad types: the fauteuil à la reine, with a flat back intended to stand against the wall, and the fauteuil en cabriolet, with a curved back that could be moved freely about the room. Louis XV examples have serpentine frames, cabriole legs and carved flowers, while Louis XVI chairs adopt straight fluted legs, oval or square backs and neoclassical ornament. Frames were often gilded or painted and covered in silk, damask, tapestry or Aubusson. In the nineteenth century French and English makers produced large salon suites of settees and chairs in revived Louis styles. Buyers should check frames for repairs and loose joints, the originality of gilding and paint, and whether stamps or marks are present. Salon chairs work beautifully in pairs either side of a fireplace or table.
