Mahogany meridian Louis-Philippe, origin Villa Le Gaillardin, Noirmoutier

A 19th-century mahogany meridian, with a very assured Louis-Philippe design: the arm curls in a volute and is adorned with palmettes and acanthus leaves, the back is curved in an accolade shape, the belt is veneered with flame mahogany, and the ball feet are fluted right down to the castors. The four small castors are functional. It has been fully restored and reupholstered in red toile de Jouy with a chinoiserie pattern: palm trees, junks, pagodas, and figures. The choice is bold and works well: the red of the fabric complements the deep brown of the mahogany without ever competing with it. It comes from "Le Gaillardin, " in Bois de la Chaise, Noirmoutier-en-l'Île. In July 1893, Charles Albert Prince (1852-1943), son of Frederick Octavius Prince, the mayor of Boston, left the United States with his wife and daughter to settle in France. The family split their time between an apartment on Rue de Grenelle in Paris and this seaside villa, which Charles Prince had rebuilt in 1904 in the form we know today. This meridian, already old when they acquired it, furnished their summers in Vendée. The history of the villa and its owners is documented: an article in Ouest-France was dedicated to it in July 2021, and an archival study — "Charles Prince at Gaillardin, " by Claude Bouhier — was published in the Letter to the Friends of the Friends of Noirmoutier Island in September 2013. Condition: a small chip of wood at the bottom of the left arm, of which the fragment has been preserved and remains to be reattached. (→ remove this line if you reattach before publication).