Getty Museum

Pair of Folding Stools (pliants)

Date

about 1786

Medium

Gessoed, painted, and gilded beech; modern upholstery

Culture

French

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

These stools were part of an order of sixty-four for the French queen Marie-Antoinette's *salles de jeux* (gaming rooms) at the palaces of Fontainebleau and Compiègne. Originally covered with painted satin, they were delivered with twelve matching fixed-leg stools ( *tabourets* ), a folding screen, and a fire-screen. Their carved decoration consists of typical Neoclassical motifs: oak wreaths, scrolling ribbons, beading, and rosettes. The wooden X-frame base, a traditional design that originated in classical antiquity, allowed each stool to fold easily once its cushion was removed. Thus they could be easily transported from room to room.

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