A specimen of this kind of work (an upright secretaire, of which we have not been able to obtain a satisfactory representation) formed part of the Hamilton Palace collection, and realised L9,450, the highest price which the writer has ever seen a single piece of furniture bring by auction; it must be regarded as the chef d’oeuvre of Gouthiere.

In the Jones Collection, at South Kensington, there are also several charming examples of Louis Seize meubles de luxe.  Some of these are enriched with plaques of Sevres porcelain, which treatment is better adapted to the more jewel-like mounting of this time than to the rococo style in vogue during the preceding reign.

[Illustration:  Arm Chair In Louis XVI.  Style.]

The upholstered furniture became simpler in design; the sofas and chairs have generally, but not invariably, straight fluted tapering legs, but these sometimes have the flutings spiral instead of perpendicular, and the backs are either oval or rectangular, and ornamented with a carved riband which is represented as tied at the top in a lover’s knot.  Gobelins, Beauvais, and Aubusson tapestry are used for covering, the subjects being in harmony with the taste of the time.  A sofa in this style, with settees at the ends, the frame elaborately carved with trophies of arrows and flowers in high relief, and covered with fine old Gobelins tapestry, was sold at the Hamilton Palace sale for L1,176.  This was formerly at Versailles.  Beautiful silks and brocades were also extensively used both for chairs and for the screens, which at this period were varied in design and extremely pretty.  Small two-tier tables of tulip wood with delicate mountings were quite the rage, and small occasional pieces, the legs of which, like those of the chairs, are occasionally curved.  An excellent example of a piece with cabriole legs is the charming little Marie Antoinette cylinder-fronted marqueterie escritoire in the Jones Collection (illustrated below).  The marqueterie is attributed to Riesener, but, from its treatment being so different from that which he adopted as an almost invariable rule, it is more probably the work of David.

[Illustration:  Carved and Gilt Causeuse or Settee, and Fauteuil or Arm Chair, Covered with Beauvais tapestry. (Collection “Mobilier National.”) (From a pen and ink drawing by H. Evans.) Period:  End of Louis XVI.]

[Illustration:  Carved and Gilt Canape or Sofa.  Covered with Beauvais tapestry. (Colection “Mobilier Natioanal.”) Period:  End of Louis XVI.]

Another fine specimen illustrated on page 170 is the small cabinet made of kingwood, with fine ormolu mounts, and some beautiful Sevres plaques.

[Illustration:  Marqueterie Escritoire.  By Davis, said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette. (Jones Collection, South Kensington Museum.)]