Skip to content
Louis Majorelle "Ombellifères" Settee and Side Chairs
$39,500
A French Art Nouveau carved wood "Ombellifères" suite, consisting of two armchairs and a settee, by Louis Majorelle. The suite is hand carved with capitals of Berce des Prés (Hogweed) and columns of Ancolie (Columbine) leaves. In order to enhance the biomorphic design of his furniture, Majorelle studied the way the ribbed stems of hogweed flowers seamlessly flowed into each other, a design practice evident in the chairs sweeping arms.
Customization: This suite is currently upholstered in an aubergine colored textured fabric, but can be reupholstered in any color or fabric of your choosing upon request.
*Please allow minimum 4 weeks for custom upholstery.*
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: F-18196
Artist: Louis Majorelle
Country: France
Circa: 1900
Dimensions: Chairs: 42.5" high, 27.5" wide, 20" deep; Settee: 42.5" high, 60.5" wide, 20" deep
Literature: Similar furniture pictured in Majorelle: Master of Art Nouveau by Alastair Duncan, p.179, fig. 46.
The Berce des Prés (Hogweed) was favored by Art Nouveau artists for its simultaneous beauty and toxicity, a natural incarnation of the femme fatale archetype. Its parasol-like shape made it a popular prop for early photography, whereby French women donned white dresses and lace parasols and posed under their gargantuan blooms. Majorelle’s inspiration for the use of Columbine leaves was likely seeing the design on the cover of L’art Decoratif, the French companion to the Munich-based decorative arts journal Dekorative Kunst. A significant supporter of the Ecole de Nancy, Majorelle, and his colleagues frequently headlined the publication's prestigious pages. In the Middle Ages, the Columbine symbolized the Holy Spirit. It is also the symbol of madness and the emblem of the king's fools.