This is the story of an exquisitely carved and gilded French chair with an impressive past which was found recently worn, faded and darkened with dust in the New Jersey warehouse of the New-York Historical Society. In September 1984, a newly appointed decorative-arts consultant at the society stumbled upon a clue to the fact that the museum had, somewhere in its holdings, a chair from Marie Antoinette's bedroom at Versailles. Over the next several months, she discovered the chair, confirming its authenticity and learned that it probably was made for Louis XVI. ''This is the sort of discovery that decorative-arts students dream about,'' the consultant, Frances von Stade Downing, said last weekend, recalling her three-month search for the long-forgotten royal relic. Mrs. Downing recalled that shortly after her arrival last year, while checking the museum's card catalogue to review its holdings in French furniture, her special interest, she came on an entry for a French side chair that had ''belonged to Marie Antoinette.''

The card stated that the armless chair was donated in 1817 by the widow of Gouverneur Morris, who had served as United States Minister to Paris during the French Revolution, and was the second president of the New-York Historical Society at his death in 1816. On the reverse side of the card was an old photograph of a chair in disarray - its horsehair innards exposed, its upholstery torn, the gilding on the frame flaking. Mrs. Downing remembered that three pieces of Versailles furniture with Gouverneur Morris pedigree -a chair and two settees - were sold by Christie's in an auction in 1983. When she checked Christie's catalogue of that sale, she discovered that the shape and carving of the chair frame in the society's photograph matched that of Christie's armchair. If so, the society owned a major prize - a piece of furniture from a suite that included armchairs, footstools, a settee, a firescreen and a side chair identified as ''une chaise pour le Roi,'' ordered by Marie Antoinette for her bedroom.

Christie's catalogue states that the chair was designed by Jacques Gondoin, architect for the French crown, carved by Francois Foliot and delivered in 1779 to Versailles. In a 1976 article Francis J. B. Watson suggested that Gouverneur Morris, probably purchased his royal furniture at the Versailles auctions held in 1792 and 1793, and brought it home in 1794. Although not all of the pieces of this Versailles bedroom furniture have been located, two are in public collections - the settee at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, and an armchair at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Another armchair and firescreen are owned by a Morris descendant, Philip Bonsal of Washington. Christie's armchair, consigned by another Morris descendant, sold for $220,000, an auction record for a chair. Mrs. Downing was puzzled. Which chair was the one in the society's photograph, and, more important, where was it? She learned that the photograph, printed from a glass negative, had been taken in the 1880's or 1890's.

The inventory card gave no hint of where the chair was. The museum and a nearby storage area were searched and nothing was found. Last December Mrs. Downing went to the New Jersey warehouse. ''I knew it had to be there - I never gave up hope that we'd find it,'' she said. And there it was, under a muslin sheet on an upper shelf of a storage room. table and chairs for sale grande prairieThe chair was immediately removed to the society's vault in the basement of the museum.french dining chairs toronto During the last year, a parade of experts has filed through the vault, Mrs. Downing reported. wooden folding chair indiaPeter Krueger of Christie's staff came with Theodore Dell, a decorative-arts historian, and they confirmed that the chair was from the same suite as the one in Christie's sale. white tub chair cape town

James Parker, a curator in European sculpture and decorative arts at the Metropolitan Museum, was consulted and he produced further data confirming the relationship of the Met's chair, marked No. 6, to the society's chair. Remarkably, the latter still had its original upholstery - disintegrating but recognizable - under a turn-of-the-century covering.used folding chairs wholesale Most important, Mrs. Downing said, was the mark ''No. 1'' found on the webbing under the seat, which means, she was told, that the chair was probably the King's. bean bag chair store coupon codeShe cited two other reasons for this conclusion. deck chair canvas suppliers''This is the only chaise or side chair that has turned up,'' she said. egg hanging chair inexpensive

''It is slightly larger than all the rest, standing about two inches higher off the floor. The King would sit higher.'' Mrs. Downing was advised by the museum at Versailles to have the chair restored in France. The cost will be about $20,000. The shredded fabric cover will be replaced by a reproduction of the original made by the same company that produced this silk covering 200 years ago, Tassinari et Chatel of Paris.chairs for sale in ottawaRoom with golden curtains and royal armchair. Stock Photo: Royal armchair Designers Also Selected These Stock Photos King and queen heads Monogram design elements, graceful template. Calligraphic Elegant line art logo design Letter emblem B identity for Restaurant, Ro Antique white leather chair Blue Curtains in vertical format More similar stock images of `Royal armchair` Royal classical style Armchair sofa couch Royal classical style Armchair sofa couch in vintage room