The name appears in inventories from 1725. Already, at the end of the Louis the seat is furnished with a large movable feather cushion placed on a background of crisscrossed straps.
From 1740, the shepherdess, much more comfortable than the convertible armchair, became widely used. Its success is such that seat carpenters produce a large number of them, the shapes and decorations following the criteria of successive styles.
The range of models produced was wider under Louis XVI than under Louis XV. Ornamentalists invent various variations. Thus, very low, the shepherdess will be called “convalescent”; when the arms spread wide to accommodate the basket dresses, she becomes “obliging”; conversely, when the arms are straight and rigid, it takes the name of “sulking”.
Finally, around 1750, the “voyeuse” was born, whose backrest is topped with an armrest. In the 18th century, the most beautiful shepherdesses were designed in advance and a 1/7 scale model was sometimes made in wood, terracotta or wax which could be modified as the customer wished.
This model was carefully preserved by the carpenter to be presented to other potential buyers. The wax models have almost all disappeared. One of them is today in a private collection: it is a 14 cm shepherdess, close to those of Jacob, made around 1780 undoubtedly under the direction of Jacques Gondoin, “a designer of Crown Furniture”. This piece is very interesting.
The six legs are all different: one with grooves, another straight, a third with arrows, etc. As for the armrest consoles, the one on the left is decorated with a lion's muzzle and the one on the right with a mermaid. This diversity of decors allowed the customer to choose between several options.