The panelling was created by the sculptor Thomas l’Aîné (1682-1739), who lived and worked in Paris then in Avignon.
L’Aîné was a member of the Société des Bâtiments du Roi (Society of the King’s Buildings), which in the early 18th century comprised several of the finest French sculptors working for the royal households. In this capacity, he worked on the royal chapel at Versailles and at Fontainebleau. He also had a workshop in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine quarter, Paris’s woodworking and furniture making district, and worked on the sculpture of the choir stalls in Notre-Dame, never completing them. In 1714 he moved to Avignon, where he pursued a brilliant career, extending his activities to architecture and interior decoration. His creations include the decoration of the Hôtel de Simiane (Aix-en-Provence), property of Madame de Grignan, daughter of the Marquise de Sévigné.