Armchair
After the Revolution, many Americans cultivated a taste for the goods offered by their most important ally - France. As president, George Washington encouraged this trend by furnishing the executive residence with French furniture, ceramics, and glassware, many of which he purchased from the departing minister, the Comte de Moustier, in 1790. This type of armchair with open sides below the arms and a straight (as opposed to concave) back is known in France as a "fauteuil à la reine," literally meaning the Queen's style chair. Chairs of this form were typically painted, highly polished with gilt highlights, or entirely gilded.
Upholstered with a brocaded peach and cream striped silk; a double row of piping in self-fabric outlines the edges of the back, seat, and armrests; sprung seat.
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