Sumptuous, exacting and intimately observed, French Furniture Under Louis XV unveils the craft and taste that defined Louis XV period style. A masterclass in furniture craft. Roger de Felice brings a practised eye to the shapes, mounts and finishes that distinguish french antique furniture, mapping the visual grammar of rococo interior design without jargon and with patient clarity. His study moves from the courtly salons to the workshops that supplied them, showing how eighteenth-century furnishings articulated rank, comfort and changing domestic life across the reign. More than a catalogue of forms, it functions as a furniture identification guide and a collectors reference guide, enabling readers to date pieces, recognise makers' characteristics and situate objects within the broader currents of european decorative arts.
Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Long admired within decorative arts history, de Felice's study has informed scholarship on french royal decor and the makers who catered to court and salon. Accessible enough for casual readers yet exacting enough for curators and classic-literature collectors, it rewards art history students, museum professionals and private connoisseurs who seek both clarity and nuance. Meticulous scholarship throughout aids provenance research and auction study, while the careful descriptions serve as a practical tool for those compiling inventories or advising on french antique furniture. Collectors, auctioneers and curators will welcome the clear criteria for attribution, while designers and decorators will find fresh rococo style inspiration for period-led interiors. The lucid tone keeps technical detail accessible without flattening the subject. For those cataloguing 1700s France furniture and for anyone assembled by the drama of form and ornament, this is a work that both teaches and delights. An elegant companion for both study and display.
