Archive for the ‘Furniture’ Category
Furniture by Jacob
A distinguished set of furniture in gilded wood, composed of two pairs of armchairs, four side chairs and four sofas.
Period: Louis XVI, circa 1787
Stamp: G.JACOB, Georges Jacob, received as a Master on 4 September 1765.
Labels :
• Salon de Monseigneur, under the apron of the sofas
• Grand Salon, fauteuil courrant à carreau, under the apron of two Armchairs
• Salon de Monseigneur, fauteuil meublant et • Fauteuil meublant du
• Salon de Monseigneur, under the apron of two armchairs
• Chambre à coucher de Monseigneur, under the apron of four chairs.
Provenance: Duc de Choiseul Stainville Marquis de Lamballe
Bibliography:
Pierre Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, Vol. II, N° 36
French Royal Furniture, N° 38, pp. 181-182
Hector Lefuel, Georges Jacob, Ebéniste du XVIII° siècle, p. 161
Revue du Louvre, 1974, n° 3
Sizes :
Armchairs
Height: 95 cm 3 ft 3 1/2 in
Width: 62 cm 2 ft 1/2 in
Depth: 58 cm 1 ft 11 in
Chairs
Height: 92 cm 3 ft 2 in
Width: 55 cm 1 ft 10 in
Depth: 52 cm 1 ft 8 1/2 in
Bergeres
Height: 103 cm 3 ft 4 1/2 in
Width: 105 cm 3 ft 5 1/2 in
Depth: 60 cm 1 ft 11 1/2 in
A pair of cabriolet chairs in wood, sculpted and gilded with beads, egg-and-heart motifs, flutes, acanthus leaves and poppy-heads. The armrests are supported by stiles in the shape of fluted and foliated balusters. They stand on tapered legs adorned with asparagus-shaped stopped flutes. The upper part has an entasis formed by plain leaves. A pair of cabriolet armchairs, sculpted and gilded with beads, and laurel and acanthus leaves. The armrests are supported by stiles in the shape of fluted and foliated balusters. They stand on tapered, stop-fluted legs adorned with asparagus motifs. The upper part has an entasis formed by plain leaves. A set of four flat-back chairs in wood, sculpted and gilded with beads, egg-and-heart motifs and poppy-heads. They stand on tapered and stop-fluted legs. A set of four sofas in wood, sculpted and gilded with acanthus leaves, laurel leaves and egg-and-heart motifs. The flat backs are slightly arched, with two antique urns at the extremities. The armrests end in a crozier. They are supported by stiles in the shape of spiral and foliated balusters. They stand on tapered legs adorned with asparagus-shaped stopped flutes motifs. The upper part has an entasis formed by plain leaves. Georges JACOB (1739-1814), the son of farmers, was born in Cheny, Burgundy, on 6 July 1730. Having lost his parents when he was very young, he moved to Paris at the age of sixteen to learn how to sculpt wood. He served as an apprentice carpenter for the chair carpenter Jean-Baptiste Lerouge in 1756. The latter died the following year but Jacob continued his six-year apprenticeship with the widow of Lerouge. It is in this workshop that he met the journeymen Guillaume Boucault, Pierre Forget and, above all, Louis Delanois, who exerted a strong influence over him. Like Delanois, he specialised in making chairs. He became a Master on 4 September 1765. After establishing himself, he married Jeanne-Germaine Loyer in 1767. Shortly afterwards, they moved to Rue de Cléry in 1775, and then settled permanently in Rue Meslée. They had five children, three sons and two daughters. The eldest, Georges (1768-1803), and the youngest, François-Honoré-Georges (1770-1841), both became brilliant cabinetmakers and assisted their father in the workshop. As of 1781, Georges Jacon was appointed to several functions in the corporations of carpenters-cabinetmakers. He was a supplier to the Court and to Princes. On 13 August 1796, he handed over his business to his two sones. This furniture is very similar to that of the Games Room of the King at the Château of Saint Cloud, made by Georges Jacob, following Order n° 3 of 31 October 1787. “… Order N° 3 of 31 October 1787. Jacob will make for the service of the King in Saint Cloud the carpentry prepared for the sculpture of: 2 sofas, 2 bergeres – 18 armchairs, of which 12 will be meublant* and 6 courant* – 24 chairs, 12 of which will have cushions and 12 will be upholstered, 6 voyeuses*, 5 meublant* chairs, 4 stools of which 2 will be with spurs and 2 id of 15po. out of 12, all upholstered, and 5 po. of seat tops – 1 screen, 1 folding screen of 6 leaves in gilded wood – For the Salon des Jeux du Roy.” National Archives 013290.
The six courant armchairs are mentioned in the memoranda of Georges Jacob: “- – - – - For the Salon des Jeux du Roy: 6 courant armchairs in a new shape also in walnut, the flat surface arched, the backs hollow and cut diagonally, the consoles turned in the shape of balusters, the same profile and same architectural body as the said big armchairs.
For the sculpture:
The backs are adorned with interlaced flowers on the front, threaded beads on the top of the arches, and other beads chiselled around the circumference of the said backs, the assemblages are also decorated with interlaced flowers and plain leaves along the border of the upholstery, the legs are balusters embellished with laurel leaves and threaded seeds, sun-shaped roses in the squares, the consoles are also in balusters enriched with acanthus leaves and laurel leaves and with two tori of ropes, the armrests are decorated with large plain leaves, on the sides are friezes in the pattern of rinceaux with roses in the squares.” National Archives OI 3646 The only difference between the armchairs for the Salon des Jeux and ours is the frieze of interlaced flowers in the case of the former and the frieze of laurel leaves in the case of the latter. The comments by Georges Jacob reveal the precision of his descriptions of the chairs he made for royal commissions. The furniture produced for the Salon des Jeux is various in different private and public collections in France and the United States:
• The Musée Condé in Chantilly
• The Louvre in Paris
• The Metropolitan Museum in New York
• The Museum of Versailles
• The Museum of Boston
The close similarities between the furniture made for the Salon des Jeux in Saint Cloud and our lead us to believe that our pieces were ordered from Georges Jacob by a very eminent personality of the time. One might consider, for example, Monsieur, the brother of Louis XVI, who made considerable orders from Georges Jacob in the 1780s for his various palaces.
* Chaise courant: a chair designed for comfort and easy to move around. Chaise meublant: a chair that is primarily decorative and intended to remain stationary against a wall. Voyeuse: a chair with an upholstered cresting rail at the back, designed to watch card games.
Pair of Directoire wing chairs
Pair of mahogany wing chairs. Their seatback are reversed. The arm-rests consoles are spindle-shaped detached columns ,the arm-rests are horizontal.
They are resting on two spindle-shaped front feet and two swords-shaped back feet.
The pattern is fluted and carved in mahogany with scrolls and rosettePeriod : Directoire
Dimensions :
Height. 94 cm. 37 in.
Width. 65,5 cm. 25 3/4 in.
Depth. 66 cm. 26 in.
Six Malbet Armchairs
A very fine serie of six tapestry coated armchairs.
Their arm-rests are shaped in forceful “coup de fouet”.
The chairs have horseshoe shaped belts and racket-backs.
Their tapestry are ornamented with bouquets parrots, and probably are Beauvais.
Spindle-shaped and fluted feet with a surprising cannopy connection in a continuous way.
Period: Louis XVI
Stamp : Pierre Malbet, Master in 1763.
« He let after him some lovely seats, extremely graceful and delicately carved, (…) whom proportions are very fortunate (….) », Jean Nicolay, « L’Art et la manière des Maîtres Ebénistes Français au XVIII° siècle », Guy le Prat, Paris, 1955.
Dimensions :
Height 94 cm. 37 in.
Width 69 cm. 27 in.
Depth 59 cm. 23 1/4 in.
Pair of Thomas Hache bookcases
Pair of wall-mounted bookcases , made of walnut, burr ash stained in green and bands of boxwood with wavelike pattern.
They consist in three shelves and a top cross bar, partly arched.
Time : Grenoble, midlle of the XVIII° century
Stamp : « HACHE A GRENOBLE » , Pierre Hache (1705-1776)
Stamp used between the 1740’s and the 1760’s. The shelves are stamped under the base and also on the rear stiles.
An identical bookcase can be seen in Françoise and Pierre Rouge work, page 64.
Bibliography :
• Le génie des Hache, Françoise and Pierre Rouge – Ed. Faton, 2005
• Hache, ébénistes à Grenoble, Marianne Clerc – Musée dauphinois – Ed Glénat
Dimensions :
Height 61 cm. 2 ft.
Width 42 cm. 12 ft 4 _ in.
Depth 13 cm. 5 in.
Rummer Mechanical table
Period : Germany, late 18th century
Attribution : Michael Rummer (1747-1821)
Michael Rummer was one of the eminent cabinetmakers active in Berlin towards the end of the 18th century. His style is characterized by pure lines, mechanical furniture, neoclassicism and the influence of David Roentgen (friezes, bronzes, legs,…).
Mechanical table in a veneer of cherrywood, Bronsinum and pearwood, on a frame of oak and pine. The top is decorated in marquetry, with a ribbon rolled around a stick. The table unfolds after rotating the top, to reveal a writing box, giving access to storage space and press buttons to open three secret drawers in the apron.
The secret doors can be opened thanks to the press buttons located on the apron and underneath the frame.
It stands on four sheath legs with four sides
Fine ormolu decoration, such as roses, cascades and ball feet.
Size :
Height. 70,5 cm. 2 ft 3 3/4 in.
Width. 95 cm. 3 ft 1 1/2 in.
Depth. 69 cm. 2 ft 3 in.
Migeon Writing table
Writing table in violet wood veneer.
It has three drawers on the apron.
Fine ormolu decoration such as the vertical falls, pull handles and hoof-shaped feet, …
It is covered in red leather and bordered by an astragal in gilded bronze.
Period: Louis XV
Stamp: Pierre IV Migeon (1696-1758)
Provenance:
Collection belonging to Baron Max de Rothschild
Bibliography:
Sophie Mouquin, Pierre IV Migeon, Paris 2001, Les cahiers du mobilier, Les Editions de l’Amateur, Perrin et fils antiquaires.
Size:
Height 76,5 cm. 2 ft 6 in.
Width 145 cm. 4 ft 9 in.
Depth 75 cm. 2 ft 5 1/2 in.
Louis XVI mahogany pedestal table
Neo-classical pedestal table in mahogany, embellished with chased and gilded bronze.
The circular top, in flamed mahogany, is movable and can be arranged in a vertical position. The shaft is decorated with gilded bronze flutes and stands on three architectured feet.
It has an attractive ormolu décoration, such as the heart friezes, beading and notched plates.
Period: Louis XVI
Size:
Height 76 cm. 29 in.
Diameter 96,5 cm. 38 in.
Slope-front “dos d’âne”desk by Garnier
The desk is curved on all faces, which are covered in a marquetry of end-grain wood over a background of chevrons in red lustred Bronsinum. The inlaid patterns represent flowering branches along the apron, the back and sides. The top and slope-flap have a serpentine cartouche in violet wood framing birds perched on flowering branches. The reverse side depicts a large multifoil shell flanked by floral branches. The end panels are veneered in amaranth.
The desk is opened by a sloping flap covered in brown leather edged with amaranth underneath, disclosing a tier of three rows of drawers arranged on two levels. The façades of the drawers are curved.
The whole is adorned with flowering branches in end-grain wood over a background of red lustred Bronsinum inside an amaranth frame. The six drawers are in walnut ; the one at the bottom right contains writing materials, with a powder-box, inkwell and pen tray in brass.
Concealed at the back of the interior, which is decorated in a similar inlaid pattern of end-grain wood and red lustred Bronsinum, are two secret compartments with partitioned wells. The one on the right opens by pressing the central screw of the hinge in the middle. As for the one on the left, it is necessary to open the well on the right, push the central partition towards the back of the desk and lift a small cleat while pushing the sliding cover. Each compartment contains two big drawers with a curved façade, veneered in chevrons of red lustred Bronsinum.
The desk is decorated with an ormolu ornamentation:
The border frieze on the slope-flap is formed of leafy rinceaux, with a Rocaille cartouche enclosing the keyhole at the top and a basket of flowers at the bottom.
A surrounding frieze of leafy rinceaux outlines the top, with mangnificent corner mounts formed of palms, waves and rockery, prolonged by vertical falls of foliage flowing down to the caps of the legs decorated with leafy open-work ormolu.
The bottom of the desk, the corners of the legs and the slope-flap are emphasized by a reed.
A knob on each drawer and three decorative rocaille elements fixed to the bottom of the desk (one in front and one on each side) complete the ormolu ornamentation.
It stands on four curved five-faced legs.
Although this desk, which goes back to the years 1745-55, does not bear any mark, it is very likely that it once belonged to the Imperial Russian collections. It is not known when it entered Russia. During that period, sovereigns would often move from one residence to another, followed by their furniture. In Russia, Parisian furniture was considered to be the height of luxury and sophistication.
The sales catalogue of 12 June 1973, in which this desk is illustrated, makes reference to a gift from Louis XV to Czarina Elisabeth Petrovna, but the size of our desk does not match that of the writing desk bought by the King from the dealer Thomas-Joachim Hébert for 7255 pounds, which was offered to the Empress on the advice of his Ambassador the Marquis de La Chétardie, in the hope of winning her support in the Austrian war of succession.
Throughout her reign (1741-1762), Empress Elisabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, commissioned numerous pieces of furniture for the palace she had built or refitted in Saint-Petersbourg. Her close circles imitated her and as a result, there was a proliferation in the Russian capital of palaces in the latest style, filled with French furniture and paintings from the best schools.
Count Mikhaïl Illarionovitch Vorontsov (1714-1767), the Chancellor of Elisabeth, who was very much in favour of a French alliance, travelled to France in 1745, under the name of the Count of Maslow, accompanied by his wife Anna, a first cousin of Elisabeth. He was received by the Queen at Versailles, where Louis XV offered him furniture and tapestries.
In 1758, he sent his tapestry-maker Corner to Paris to make purchases for his palace, which was built by Bartolomeo Rastrelli from 1749 to 1757.
In her memoirs, Princess Dashkov, the niece of Vorontsov, who was President of the Academy of Science under Catherine II, speaks of the courtesy and refined elegance of the society frequented by the house of her uncle, as well as the entirely European taste that had prevailed over its furnishing and decoration, magnificent enough to be justifiably ranked as a princely residence
Furthermore, the ambassadors of France felt obliged to furnish their residences in splendour, and on leaving left the country, they would sell the furniture they had brought with them, thus creating another source of supply for the Russian market.
Sales of artworks by the Soviets.
From the 1920s onwards, the obvious economic failure of the Soviets, associated with the collapse of the gold reserves in the USSR, the decrease in production and the fall in prices of raw materials, led the Soviets to seek new sources of foreign currency to finance their industrialization and purchases of equipment from abroad. It was therefore decided to follow the example of the Convention which had proceeded with massive sales of artworks in 1793. The sale of artworks had actually started with the arrival of the Bolsheviks, but the Soviets decided to multiply such operations.
In 1928, the Antikvariat assumed the task of selecting, evaluating and scattering art collections. Major works from Imperial collections, museums or spoliations were consequently put on sale through the intermediary of auction houses, including the auctioneer Rudolph Lepke in Germany. Other sales were held by mutual agreement, to the benefit of foreign dealers and leading collectors (including Callouste Gulbenkian).
Stamp: GARNIER (François Garnier, active from 1730 to 1774 or Pierre Garnier, received as Master in 1742) and the JME mark of the Jurande des Menuisiers Ebénistes parisiens.
François and Pierre Garnier:
The initial on the stamp is almost illegible and it is therefore impossible to determine wherther it is a P or F. On the occasion of the Lepka sale, our desk was attributed to François Garnier, although subsequently there was a tendency to attribute it to Pierre, whose production was, on the whole, much more luxurious than that of his father, whose stamp is rarely encountered.
At present, it seems to be acknowledged that our desk should be classified as being a creation of Pierre Garnier (1720-1800), received as Master in 1742, who was one of the most brilliant cabinetmakers of his time, with a a production that reflected the way the Rocaille style developed from its most picturesque form to the purest neoclassicism. He was one of the initiators of the « Greek » style. Pierre Garnier’s production was both rich and abundant, and thanks to his talent, he was able to attract a carefully chosen clientèle. The Marquis de Contades commissioned from him furniture for the Château de Montgeoffroy and the brother of Madame de Pompadour, the Marquis de Marigny, Directeur Général des Bâtiments, Jardins, Arts, Académies et Manufactures du Roi, ordered furniture for his official residence.
When he passed away, Les Petites Affiches of II Germinal Year VIII announced his death by stating that « any eulogy would be superfluous ».
Pieces of furniture bearing the stamp of Pierre Garnier are the pride of the finest collections.
Provenance:
• Probably the Imperial Russian Collections before 1917 (sale by the Soviets)
• Rudolph Lepke Kunst-Auction-Haus Berlin sale, Kunstwerke aus den Beständen Leningrader Museen und Schlösser, second part, 4 and 5 June 1929, lot 200.
• Founès Collection, sale in Paris, Galerie Charpentier, on 27 June 1935, lot 118, auctioned at 35,100 Francs.
• Bensimon Collection
• Mr. and Mrs. G. Collection, sale in Paris, Palais Galliera, 12 June 1973, lot 102.
Exhibition:
« Grands ébénistes et menuisiers parisiens du XVIIIème siècle », December 1955-February 1956, Paris, Musée des Arts décoratifs.
Bibliography:
• André Boutemy, « Les vraies formes du bureau dos d’âne », Connaissance des arts, N° 77, July 1958, pp. 38-43.
• Exhibition catalogue « Grands ébénistes et menuisiers parisiens du XVIIIème siècle », Paris, Musée des Arts décoratifs, December 1955-February 1956, N° 112, pl. XV.
Size:
Height 91 cm. 3 ft.
Width 102 cm. 3 ft 4 in.
Depth 56 cm. 1 ft 10 in.
Writing desk by Leleu
Flat writing desk in a veneer of amaranth and maple, with an ormolu decoration.
The apron has two drawers. The writing table stands on four tapered legs.
It is finely decorated with patterns of rosettees, interlacing and imitation flutes in marquetry.
It has an attractive ormolu ornamentation, such as the astragal and caps. The top is covered in black leather.
Period: Louis XVI
Stamp: Jean-François LELEU, received as Master in 1764
Provenance : Deane Jonhnson Collection
Bibliography: two writing tables with the same décoration or in a similar style are reproduced in Le Mobilier français du XVIII° siècle by P.Kjellberg, Paris, page 508 fig. A. and Les Ebénistes français de Louis XIV à la Révolution by A.Pradère, Paris, 1989, page 340.
Size:
Height 72,5 cm. 28 1/2 in.
Width 112,5 cm. 44 1/4 in.
Depth 58,5 cm. 23 1/2 in.
Lion snouts armchair
Impressive mahogany chair. The high back reclines using bronze handles shaped as lion snouts. The armrests are finished by carved lion heads. The circular rotating seat is adjustable.
It stands on four claw feet.
Period: France, early nineteenth century
This chair has an inscription in ink on the underside of the belt Foliot tapissier rue de Bourbon-Villeneuve. He must be a descendant of Quinibert Nicolas Foliot (who owned two houses in Bourbon Street (now rue d’Aboukir)). In the trade almanac Foliot tapissier is registred in this street between 1823 and 1828.
sizes:
High. 120 cm. 47 1 / 4 in.
Width. 74 cm. 29 in..
Deepth. 64 cm. 25 in..
Dumb waiter by Carlin
A dumb waiter with three trays in mahogany, mahogany veneer and ormolu. It is supported by stiles in the shape of fluted columns and balusters in copper, ending in tapered legs. The rear stiles are in the shape of square-based pilasters. An attractive chiseled ormolu decorates the galleries of the trays, the rings and the sabots. The two shelves and the top are in white veined marble.
Period: Louis XVI
Stamp: Martin CARLIN, Master in 1766
Size:
Height 86 cm 2 ft 10 in
Width 49 cm 19 1/4 in
Depth 35 cm 13 3/4 in
Caned armchair
The wooden frame of this chair is made of solid walnut and exquisitely hand carved rocaille elements, in the centre of the stretchers, on the legs and on the edges of the rails and on the arms.
This chair has a straight back
It is fully-caned
Period: end of Louis XIV
Sizes:
Haut. 105 cm. 3 ft 5 1/3 in.
Larg. 61 cm. 2 ft.
Prof. 48 cm. 1 ft 7/8 in.
Armchair with winged sphinxes
An armchair inspired by Antiquity with a high curved back in mahogany and mahogany veneer.
The armrests are supported by two winged sphinxes standing on a rectangular pedestal ending in castors.
Period: late 18th century
Provenance: Former collection of Jean Bloch, sale in Paris, Palais Galliera, 13 June 1961, Lot. 108.
Exhibition: This armchair was included in the exhibition on “French Chairs” held in June-July 1947, n° 186.
Size:
Height – 128 cm 4 ft 2 3/8 in
Width – 66 cm 2 ft 2 in
Depth- 58 cm. 22 7/8 in.
Bibliography:
This armchair is directly inspired by Antiquity. A chair of the same model is depicted in the painting by David at the Louvre, entitled “Lictors Bringing Back to Brutus the Body of His Sons” (Inv. NM 2683), painted for the King in 1789. This painting shows three antique-style chairs that had been ordered and made for David by his cabinet-maker Georges Jacob.
Sophie Monneret “David et le néoclassicisme” Finest SA / Finest Pierre Terrail, p. 92.
Pair of Louis XV corner settees
Pair of grey colored painted corner settees.
Wavy line backrest.
Floral engravings on the top and bottom frame, as well as on the armrest and the undulated feet.
Stamped : N. Heurtaut, Master in 1755.
Period : Louis XV, circa 1760
Provenance : family tradition dictates that it is said to have belonged to Madame du Barry.
Bibliography :
• P. Kjellberg, « Le Mobilier Français du XVIII° Siècle », 1989, p. 404, fig. B (only one settee is shown).
Dimensions:
Large 150 cm 59 in
Depth 115 cm 45 1/2 in
Commode and corner cupboards by Garnier
A commode and matching corner cupboards in mahogany, ebony and ormolu.
The commode has a slight breakfront in the middle. The stiles have chamfered angles. The drawers and leaves are in mahogany, framed in ebony and flambé mahogany. The chamfered stiles represent pilasters on an ebony ground. The commode has three drawers on the apron. The breakfront, with three large drawers, is bordered with two leaves opening on to a shelf. It stands on four tapered legs.
The superb ormolu ornamentation consists of beaded friezes, egg-and-heart motifs, vertical patterns of acanthus leaves, and the handles of the drawers. The top is in white marble, with a central breakfront and chamfered angles.
The corner cupboards are decorated in the same style as the commode. They have a flap and a drawer on the front.
There are certain similarities between the commode and corner cupboards by Garnier and the pieces commissioned by the Prince de Condé from the cabinetmaker Jean-François Leleu in 1771 for the Palais Bourbon. Between 1772 and 1777, Leleu delivered to the Prince de Condé two secretaires with a fall-flap, two cylinder desks, seven commodes, two writing tables, twenty-seven card tables and eleven screens. These items of furniture were made in the same style, with chamfered angles imitating a pilaster and ending at the top by a similar vertical pattern in the shape of a large acanthus leaf in ormolu. Similar vertical patterns can only be found on the furniture made by Leleu for the Palais Bourbon and on our commode and corner cupboards. The furniture produced by Leleu for the Palais Bourbon are now in the Louvre, the Château of Versailles, the Wallace Collection and various private collections.
As of 1769, the Marquis de Marigny was one of the principal clients of Garnier, especially for his mansion in the Place des Victoires. According to the correspondence between Marigny and Garnier, the cabinetmaker possessed bronze models that he had designed himself.
Period : Louis XVI
Stamp : P.GARNIER, for Pierre Garnier, received as a Master on 31 December 1742.
Bibliography : Alexandre Pradère, Les ébénistes français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, Chêne, 1989, pp. 247-251 and pp. 333-341.
Size:
Commode
Height: 103 cm 3 ft 8 1/2 in
Width: 174 cm 5 ft 8 1/2 in
Depth: 66 cm 2 ft 2 in
Corner cupboards
Height: 103 cm 3 ft 8 1/2 in
Width: 92 cm 3 ft
Depth: 60 cm 2 ft
Durand desk
A flat desk in a veneer of rose and violet wood. It has three drawers on the apron and stands on four curved legs.
The vertical panels, keyholes, astragal and sabots are attractively decorated in chiselled ormolu.
The top is covered in a burgundy-coloured and finely gilded leather
Period: Louis XV
Stamp: B. DURAND
Size:
Height 78 cm 30 1/2 in
Width 174 cm 5 ft 8 1/2 in
Depth 88 cm 34 1/2 in
Leleu escritoire
Inlaid desk which can be opened by three drawers forming a belt, a flap that reveals a leather tray and a filling cabinet with seven drawers.
Beautiful decoration of guilded bronze such as: framings, friezes, locks, ect…
The upper part of the filling cabinet is decorated with 3 slabes of marble.
Period : Louis XVI
Dimensions :
height. 112 cm. 44 in.
width. 96 cm. 38 in.
depth. 53 cm. 21 in.
Desk chair by Canabas
A large desk chair with a rotating seat in mahogany. The back and seat are caned.
The back and cushion are covered in beige velvet, and the apron is sculpted with flutes.
It stands on four tapering and fluted legs.
Period : Louis XVI.
Stamp: Joseph Gengenbach, known as Canabas, received as Master in April 1766. There are three stamps of Canabas as well as two JME.
Marks: •ASS. NAT. for Assemblée Nationale, fire stamped.
•N°27, with ink twice.
Size :
Height. 85 cm. 33 1/2 in.
Width. 57 cm. 22 1/2 in.
Depth. 56 cm. 22 in.
The furniture of the States General used for the General Assembly frequently bears, in addition to the mark « ASS. NAT. », a four-figure inventory number (drawn up on the initiative of Thierry de Ville d’Avray). This is often for outmoded furniture (Louis XV); on the other hand, our armchair, with its two-figure inventory number, indicates one of the first orders made specially for the National Assembly. .
Caned armchair by Canabas
Caned chair in mahogany. The armrests are attached to a straight but slightly arched back. The continuous textured apron is decorated with fluting.
It has a flat leather cushion.
It stands on four tapering and fluted legs (the back ones are oblique)
Period : Louis XVI
Stamp : Joseph Gengenbach, known as Canabas, received as Master on 1st April 1766.
Two similar armchairs, as well as rotating desk chairs, in the same spirit, by Canabas, can be found at the National Assembly.
Size :
Height. 86 cm. 34 in.
Width. 52 cm. 20 1/2 in.
Depth. 46 cm. 18 in.
Cupboard by Riesener
A rectangular cupboard in mahogany veneer and solid mahogany with rounded corners. It has two full doors and is decorated with fluted pilasters. It stands on straight legs. The top is in white marble with an ogee edging.
The refined ormolu ornamentation includes a frieze of trophies along the cornice, lion muzzles, …
It has attractive mechanical locks in polished iron and bronze.
Period: Louis XVI
Stamp: Jean-Henri Riesener, received as Master in 1768
Provenance: former Delplace collection
Bibliography: Connaissance des Arts, October 1959, appartment belonging to Monsieur and Madame X., rue de Varenne, p. 48-53, illustrated in the bedroom.
Size:
Height 175.5 cm. 69 1/4 in.
Width 138 cm. 54 1/4 in.
Depth 43 cm. 17 in.
Console in ebony and Chinese lacquer
A side console table in ebony with two drawers
It is decorated with a Chinese lacquer panel depicting Japanese flowering cherries on the stretcher. The front of the apron is embellished with a European lacquer imitating this Chinese panel. The table stands on four octagonal legs in ebony, tapered at the bottom.
It has a fine ormolu decoration on the tops of the legs, in the shape of the roof of a Chinese pagoda, and the gallery around the stretcher adorned with a frieze of the Chinese character “pinyin” (symbolizing, in Chinese Buddhism, the achievement of the “ten thousand merits” that promise Nirvana). The top is in white marble.
Period: Louis XVI, circa 1785
This console can be compared with the furniture made by the cabinetmakers Martin Carlin, Adam Weisweiler and Claude-Charles Saunier for the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre towards the end of the 18th century.
Size:
Height 87.6 cm. 2 ft 10 1/2 in.
Width 134.6 cm. 4 ft 5 in.
Depth 40.6 cm. 1 ft 4 in.
Secretaire by Fourreau
Secretaire with a flap, drawer and door. It has pronounced architectural features and is adorned with fluted pilasters. The panels are decorated with reliefs in European lacquer, over a black background, in imitation of Japanese lacquers. These lacquers, of an exceptionally high quality, made use of oxidation techniques on silver leaves, with the help of oxidizing agents, in order to obtain different colours. These lacquer panels depict genre scenes peopled with musicians and other characters in a landscape with pagodas, trees, bouquets, …
The chiselled ormolu decoration consists of the bronze gallery embellished with draperies, friezes of beads, … It stands on four tapered and fluted legs. The top is in white veined marble.
Period: Louis XVI
Attribution: Louis Foureau
The Musée Carnavalet in Paris and the Musée de Reims own two pairs of corner cupboards in European lacquer made by Louis Foureau.
Height 130 cm 51 in
Width 50 cm 19 3/4 in
Depth 30 cm 11 3/4 in
Pair of cabinets in Japanese lacquer and gilded wood
Pair of cabinets in black and gold lacquer, gilded bronze and copper.
Period:
• Cabinet: Japan, Edo (1603-1867), second half of the 17th century
• Stand: France, Regency (1700-1735).
Provenance:
Collection belonging to the Comtesse Gardès
Bibliography:
• Thibaut Wolversperges, Le meuble français en laque au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 2000, p. 31-38.
• Calin Demetrescu, Le style Régence, Paris, 2003, p. 70-81.
Total:
Height 147 cm. 58 in.
Width 81 cm. 32 in.
Depth 52 cm. 20 ½ in.
Cabinets:
Height 66 cm. 26 in.
Width 77 cm. 30 ¼ in.
Depth 48 cm. 19 in.
Stand:
Height 81 cm. 32 in.
Width 81 cm. 32 in.
Depth 52 cm. 20 ½ in.
Writing table by Cramer
Flat marquetry writing table in citruswood and rosewood.
Beautiful chiseled ormolu ornamentation such as a vase with flowers, angle drapings, etc.
The apron has two drawers that open on the front and a sliding shelf on one of the sides.
Four legs sheathed in marquetry and decorated with ormolu.
Period: Louis XVI
Attribution: workshop of M.G. Cramer, named master on September 4, 1771
Provenance: Mrs. Derek Fitzgerald Collection
Ortiz-Patino Collection
Bibliography: Alexandre Pradère. Les Ebénistes français de Louis XIV à la Révolution. Editions du Chêne. Paris, 1989, p. 325, fig. 371.
Height 71,5 cm. 28 1/4 in.
Width 130 cm. 51 1/4 in.
Depth 64 cm. 25 1/4 in.
Dining room table
Big round mahogany and palissandre (Brazilian rosewood) dinning room table.
A ridged bronze circles the massive mahogany tray.
Just under, a Greek frieze and rectangles in diamond point shape, decorate the massive palissandre belt.
The table rests on eight baluster feet surmounted by an ionic capital garnished with chiseled and gilded bronzes.
Period : XIX° century, circa 1850-1860
Dimensions :
Hight. 81 cm. 2 ft. 3/4
Diam. 193 cm. 6 ft 1/4
Open 378 cm. 12 ft. 1/2
You can add 4 leaves of 1 ft. 6 1/2 large.
Pair of Louis XV corner settees
Pair of grey colored painted corner settees.
Wavy line backrest.
Floral engravings on the top and bottom frame, as well as on the armrest and the undulated feet.
Stamped : N. Heurtaut, Master in 1755.
Period : Louis XV, circa 1760
Provenance : family tradition dictates that it is said to have belonged to Madame du Barry.
Bibliography :
• P. Kjellberg, « Le Mobilier Français du XVIII° Siècle », 1989, p. 404, fig. B (only one settee is shown).
Dimensions:
Large 150 cm 59 in
Depth 115 cm 45 1/2 in
Set of eight chairs
A set of eight flat-back chairs from the Empire and Louis-Philippe period, in sculpted and gilded wood, having a rectangular back with a pleated-ribbon decoration, an apron adorned with roses, and sabre legs.
Two chairs are stamped Jacon D.R. Meslée. They were supplied by Georges Jacob and François Honoré Jacob (known as Jacob Desmalter), for the theatre at the Petit Trianon in 1810.
Six chairs are stamped Jacob for Georges-Alphonse Jacob. They match the above-mentioned chairs and were ordered by Louis-Philippe.
The two chairs stamped Jacob-D-RMeslée are marked « Trianonspectacle 1810 » in ink with the following numbers:
• PT 1363 (in red ink of the inventory of 1834)
• 5688 (in black ink of the inventory of 1839)
• T 4573 (of the inventory of 1855)
Four chairs stamped Jacob bear the firemark of the Château d’Eu and the two others are marked Dreux.
Size:
The two Empire chairs :
Height 91 cm 36 in
Width 37 cm 14 1/2 in
The six Louis-Philippe chairs
Height 91 cm 36 in
Width 38 cm 15 in
Bibliography:
The invoice of the first two chairs supplied by Jacob-Desmalter and the upholsterer François-Louis CASTELNAUXDARRAC, dated 25 July 1810, is worded as follows :
« 50 chaises en bois d’hêtre mise au couleur d’acajou,
couvertes en velours d’Utrecht bleu à larges raies,
galon faux or et clous dore lentille. Bois d’une haise
Pour l’appui du pourtour, l’avoir dégarni et regarni plus
fort. Total du premier pourtour; 2,824.82 » (D. Ledoux-
Lebard, Le Petit Trianon, 1989, p. 222)
DARRAC, who died in 1862, was one of the leading upholsterers of the early 19th century. He carried out many orders for the imperial residences (D. Ledoux-Lebard, Les ébénistes du XIX°, 2nd edition, p. 146).
The Theatre was originally called the Petit Théatre. Marie-Antoinette was responsible for having it built in 1778-1780, like the other houses of her retreat at the Petit Trianon. The theatre was designed by Richard Micque in the « antique » style.
In 1809, Napoleon decided to renovate the theatre for his second wife, Empress Marie-Louise. The fabric used by the upholsterer Darac was replaced by one in crimson red.
In 1837, Louis-Philippe renovated the Petit Trianon for his son the Duc d’Orléans, and these chairs seem to have been made at that time and were later transported to the Château d’Eu and the Chapel of Dreux (D. Ledoux-Lebard, op. cit., p. 364).
Commode by Delorme
Period: Louis XV
Attributed to Adrien Delorme, received as Master in 1748
Marks: chalk inscription 3356 twice plus a paper label with an inscription and N°7
Provenance:
• Baron Lionel de Rothschild (1809-1879),
• His son, Baron Léopold de Rothschild (1845-1917),
• His son, Baron Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942),
• Baron Edmund de Rothschild (born in 1916),
• Frank Partridge & Sons, end of the 1940s
• Blackwell collection.
Commode by Delorme (contd)
Bibliography:
Pierre Verlet, Les Ebénistes du XVIIIème Siècle Français, 1963, p. 116
Size:
Height 86.5cm. 2 ft 10 in.
Width 145 cm. 4 ft 9 in.
Depth 68 cm. 2 ft 2 in.
This commode has a sinuous form and is curved on all sides.
It has two drawers without a rail.
It has a rosewood veneer arranged in an inlaid frieze of flowers in wood tinted in green, yellow and pink.
On the front, this marquetry pattern is enclosed in a large cartouche in the middle, outlined by a gilded bronze frame arranged on reserves of amaranth wood. The cartouche is flanked on both sides by two panels that echo each other, which are also surrounded by reserves in amaranth wood encircled by a gilded bronze frame.
The cartouche in the middle is asymmetrical, and is composed of palms, rinceaux of leaves, openwork rocaille and shells enclosing the keyholes and the drawer handles formed of scrolls of foliage for the bottom drawer and of dragons for the top drawer.
The main cartouche, asymmetrical in shape, is superimposed by another larger and more rectilinear one outlined by a finer bronze frame.
The bottom is embellished with an asymmetrical apron ornament formed of palms, acanthus leaves and small flowers.
Commode by Delorme (contd 2)
The asymmetrical vertical mounts at the corners have an openwork pattern with an ornamentation of rocaille, palms and foliage, prolonged by a reed on the crest of the legs falling down to the leafy feet
The sides are embellished with a similar marquetry arranged in a central quadrilobate medallion outlined by a bronze ornamentation of palms, rinceaux of foliage and openwork rocaille over a ground of amaranth wood, framed by four spandrels in rosewood inlaid with flowers, the whole surrounded by an ornamentation in gilded bronze.
All the crests of the apron and the feet are marked by reeds in gilded bronze. Marquetry reserves highlight the front stiles just above the legs.
The top is in Sarrancolin marble with an ogee edging.
Comparable works:
This commode belongs to a small group of highly similar commodes all decorated on the front with a large asymmetrical cartouche and spectacular drawer handles in the shape of dragons, attributed to Delorme on the basis of the example at the Petit Palais in Paris, which bears his signature.
A recent restoration has revealed the mark of Pierre Roussel, who was received as Master 1748.
This could imply that Delorme, acting as a merchant-cabinetmaker, might be the person who ordered this commode, of which he was the author and owner of the model, and that Roussel merely executed it.
A similar commode, stamped by Delorme, belonged to the Matthew Schutz collection.
Another one belonged to Lady Jane Douglas and another to Mrs. Price.
The latter was part of the collections of the Grand Duc et Margrave de Bade.
Commode by Delorme (contd 3)
Adrien Delorme
Son of the Master-Cabinetmaker François Delorme (who died in 1768), Adrien Delorme, belonged to a line of craftsman whose original name was Faizelot. His brothers Jean-Louis and Alexis were also master-cabinetmakers. He was received as Master in 1748 and left his father’s workshop in rue Tiquetonne to move to rue du Temple where he established himself as a merchant-cabinetmaker. He was one of the best cabinetmakers during the reign of Louis XV and was a juryman of his guild from 1768 to 1770. He earned his reputation thanks to his highly original and superb marquetry. One of his favourite ornamental motifs is composed of very sinuous rinceaux inlaid alone on a ground of a chevron-patterned veneer in sharp contrasts of light and darker wood He also had a strong inclination for Chinese and Japanese lacquers, as well as European varnishes imitating those of China and Japan. According to Pierre Verlet, « His works are among the most audacious in the rocaille style of the Louis XV period ».
Furniture bearing his mark can be found in major public and private collections, in particular, the Louvre, the Musée du Petit Palais, in Paris, the Jean-Paul Getty Museum in Malibu and Waddesdon Manor near London.
Console and mirror with the monogram of Duc Fredinand-Philippe d’Orléans
A console and mirror in brass and ebony marquetry, chiseled and gilded bronze, amethyst and carnelian, bearing the monogram of the Duc Ferdinand-Philipe d’Orléans (1810-1842).
The marquetry consists of brass and pewter on an ebony ground, decorated with scrolls and volutes of acanthus leaves.
The back of the console has a raised medallion in the middle repeating the general decoration.
The base is made of ebony veneer.
Carnelian beads and amethyst cabochons form part of the decoration.
The ormolu ornamentation includes animal masks, cord-like friezes, beads and frames.
The top is in green marble with white veins.
The console and mirror bear the monogram of the Duc d’Orleans, surmounted by the ducal crown held by two cherubs.
Period: Paris, circa 1835-1839
Attributed to Louis-Alexandre Bellangé (born after 1797)
The Duc Ferdinand-Philipe d’Orléans (1810-1842)
The Duc Ferdinand-Philipe d’Orléans, a royal prince and the eldest son of Louis-Philippe, lived in the Pavillon de Marsan at the Tuileries Palace. Constantly in search of the best artistic achievements, the Duke actively involved the Bellangé family in the vast programme to redecorate the Tuileries between 1834 and 1840. The Duc bought several pieces of furniture made by Louis-Alexandre Bellangé at the Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie in 1834 and 1839.
The Duke died at the age of 32 in an accident with his barouche.
Console:
Height 99 cm. 3 ft 3 in.
Width 127 cm. 4 ft 2 in.
Depth 56 cm. 1 ft 10 in.
Mirror:
Height 166 cm. 5 ft 3 in.
Width 121 cm. 3 ft 11 ½ in.