Pair of ormolu mounted lacquered metal curule chairs

This beautiful pair of chairs, crafted in the French Empire style in the early twentieth century, take for their shape the curule form, a design well-noted for its use by Roman emperors and before that by those holding high office in the days of the Roman Republic. The curule chair was a symbol of imperium, the highest form of power in Rome, separate from auctoritas and potestas, which afforded the wielder military or governmental command. Following Rome's fall the curule shape surfaced from time to time in later European civilisations, used especially by kings and notably by Napoleon in the Empire period. 

These particular pieces comprise curved seats mounted with ormolu eagle heads on each armrest, with ormolu feet modelled as an eagle foot on globe. The frames are made of lacquered metal, and they come with a well matched pair of seat cushions.