Cavri Carved Cane Cartouche Chair

Cavri's back is in the Louis XV cartouche idiom: it widens at the shoulders, draws in at the waist and opens again lower down. That three turn silhouette is built by the line of the frame itself, and the cane follows the same line to fill the opening from edge to edge.

A carved crest in the leaf and scroll idiom sits at the top of the cartouche and breaks its outline upward. A slim bead runs along the inner edge of the frame, drawing the boundary of the cane, and no other ornament is left beside the relief.

The front legs are curved in the Louis idiom and finish on a small pad foot. The front leg begins at the seat corner with a small square capital block whose outer faces are cut with lengthwise flutes. Unlike its relatives in this batch, Cavri is not left unbraced: a flat, gently bowed stretcher runs from front leg to rear leg on each side and ties the body together. They sit on the side faces only; there is no front or rear member and nothing medial, so nothing closes into a ring around four faces. Their diagonal look in the photographs is perspective; both are joined at the same height. The photographs show the bare, unfinished and unupholstered frame alongside the walnut stained version with a terracotta fabric upholstered seat.