Antique French canapé
signed Roumaion
c. 1780
The canapé was missing its left arm, half of a back leg,
the right arm was partially detached…
Arriving from Paris, it had virtually been destroyed by Customs,
and languished for years in the store’s storage room…
Found it lying on its back on the furniture showroom floor,
bargained it down to $400, and with no idea where it
would go, it was in my car with the Detroit 93 Saint-Ouen
Déménagements Transports tag still attached to a leg…
It wasn’t until I got home that I discovered that it was signed…
as was required by all furniture work in pre 1790 Paris..
This name compelled me to have a new arm and back leg carved…
and stopped all thoughts of refinishing it with a light gray
wash. The V stumped me, then found out it was how they did U’s.
Here is another piece made by Roumaion…
CANAPE en bois naturel mouluré et sculpté de fleurettes.
Epoque Louis XV. Porte une estampille ROUMAION
Found through Drouot documentation
Here’s the new arm…absent 230 years…
It amazes me to think of what Roumaion’s canapé
experienced as it moved its way through history …
If you’re considering whether you want to invest in a broken
antique…woodwork and re-glueing cost @ $700, staining and
distressing to match a few hundred more. Luckily the caning
was nearly perfect..a colored fixative was applied to the few
weak spots. Complete re-caning is one of the most expensive
parts of a restoration.
