French work, 1990s

H 108 x W 47 x D 41 cm — seat height 45 cm

Wrought iron and gold leaf

Very good condition

The backrest does not extend from the seat; it is detached from it, supported by a single rod, like a piece of armor mounted on a base. Two triangular plates extend from either side of this rod and terminate in two curled horns. The seat is a square sheet of metal inlaid with gold, resting on three legs joined by an arch.

Jean-Jacques Argueyrolles, born in 1954, belongs to the generation of metalworkers who, in the 1980s and 1990s, moved wrought iron beyond mere pastiche and treated it as a sculptural material. His chairs are less furniture than sculptures.

The two sides of the chair's backrest are not finished in the same way: one side is stitched and gilded, the other is cross-hatched with a chisel. The chair can therefore be viewed from both sides, allowing it to be placed in the middle of a room rather than against a wall.