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Lot Essay
Nicolas Sageot (1666-1731), maître in 1706.
With its extraordinary première-partie inlay, exceptional bronze mounts and elegant shaped form, this commode bears many of the hallmarks of the oeuvre of by the celebrated early-18th century cabinet maker, Nicolas Sageot (1666-1731) . The elegant masks which run down the centre of this commode relate to those featured on the commode stamped N. Sageot from Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire which was sold at Christie's, London, 16 December 1999, lot 50.
Sageot was one of the few early 18th-century ébénistes who stamped his work and examples of his oeuvre are in the Swedish Royal Collection, including an armoire, a pair of cabinets and a bureau mazarin (P. Grand, 'Le Mobilier Boulle et les Ateliers de l'Epoque', L'Estampille L'Objet d'Art, February 1993, pp. 55-63). Though unsigned, the present lot closely relates to a commode in the Wallace Collection (see P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Furniture, London, 1996, vol. II, cat. 137 (F39), pp. 638-643) attributed to Sageot whose inlaid top, sides and mask-form escutcheons are nearly identical to those on the present piece. The spectacular panels represent the birth of Venus on the top and dancing musicians on the side and are based, in both cases, on designs by Jean Berain (1640-1711), Dessinateur de la chambre et du cabinet du Roi, published in the Oeuvre de Jean Bérain recueillies par les soins de sieur thuret of 1711. Related designs feature, for instance, a closely related commodes sold at Christie's New York, 21 October 1997, lot 25 ($125,000) and another formerly at Glenthorne House, Devon, sold at Christie's, London, 26 & 27 April 2016, lot 147 (£92,500). Berain's decorative compositions proved a fertile source for marquetry designs for furniture makers of the period, and are here sumptuously rendered, replete with scrolling arabesques, delicately perched cherubs and exotic birds. Further related commodes were sold Christie's New York, Partridge, 17 May 2006, lot 77 ($204,000) and at Christie's Paris, 3 & 4 May 2016, lot 122 (€69,900).
With its extraordinary première-partie inlay, exceptional bronze mounts and elegant shaped form, this commode bears many of the hallmarks of the oeuvre of by the celebrated early-18th century cabinet maker, Nicolas Sageot (1666-1731) . The elegant masks which run down the centre of this commode relate to those featured on the commode stamped N. Sageot from Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire which was sold at Christie's, London, 16 December 1999, lot 50.
Sageot was one of the few early 18th-century ébénistes who stamped his work and examples of his oeuvre are in the Swedish Royal Collection, including an armoire, a pair of cabinets and a bureau mazarin (P. Grand, 'Le Mobilier Boulle et les Ateliers de l'Epoque', L'Estampille L'Objet d'Art, February 1993, pp. 55-63). Though unsigned, the present lot closely relates to a commode in the Wallace Collection (see P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Furniture, London, 1996, vol. II, cat. 137 (F39), pp. 638-643) attributed to Sageot whose inlaid top, sides and mask-form escutcheons are nearly identical to those on the present piece. The spectacular panels represent the birth of Venus on the top and dancing musicians on the side and are based, in both cases, on designs by Jean Berain (1640-1711), Dessinateur de la chambre et du cabinet du Roi, published in the Oeuvre de Jean Bérain recueillies par les soins de sieur thuret of 1711. Related designs feature, for instance, a closely related commodes sold at Christie's New York, 21 October 1997, lot 25 ($125,000) and another formerly at Glenthorne House, Devon, sold at Christie's, London, 26 & 27 April 2016, lot 147 (£92,500). Berain's decorative compositions proved a fertile source for marquetry designs for furniture makers of the period, and are here sumptuously rendered, replete with scrolling arabesques, delicately perched cherubs and exotic birds. Further related commodes were sold Christie's New York, Partridge, 17 May 2006, lot 77 ($204,000) and at Christie's Paris, 3 & 4 May 2016, lot 122 (€69,900).