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Lot Essay
This spectacular armoire in première-partie ‘Boulle’ marquetry can confidently be attributed to Nicolas Sageot (1666-1731) who, together with André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), was one of the most accomplished ébéniste specialising in the intricate marquetry of cut tortoiseshell and brass that flourished during the latter part of Louis XIV’s reign and the Régence. In his article on cabinet-making workshops specializing in Boulle marquetry (P. Grand, ‘Le Mobilier Boulle et les ateliers de l’époque’, L’Estampille/L’Objet d’Art, February 1993, pp. 48-58), scholar Pierre Grand illustrates a series of sumptuously inlaid armoires and bibliothèques by Sageot, identifying three developmental stages in the ébéniste’s production of this furniture type. The first group of armoires, to which the present lot belongs, displays an arched cornice and a dense bérainesque marquetry with tortoiseshell covering much of the surfaces. The armoires belonging to the second group, in turn, feature pilasters to each side of the doors and move away from figurative marquetry to increasingly abstract arabesque compositions. In the third stage, the original arched cornice becomes replaced by an ogival shaped one.
The marquetry panels and overall domed form of this armoire, which is designed in the 'antique' manner, closely relates it to an example attributed to Sageot and sold at Christie’s, New York, 17 May 2006, lot 115. The marquetry panels to the doors in particular, are closely related to those visible on a pair of armoires by Sageot with very similar scroll inlays yet centred by a figure of Hercules (sold Christie’s, New York, 13 April 2016, lot 11), and to a second example, also by Sageot, which sold from the collection of Monsieur and Madame François (Christie’s, London 2011, lot 81). Another similarly shaped armoire in red tortoiseshell and formerly in the collection Armand Löwengrad was sold at Koller, Zurich, 27 September 2019, lot 1048.
NICOLAS SAGEOT
Nicolas Sageot’s life and career are remarkably well-documented. Born in 1666 and son of a wine-grower, he is first recorded working as an ébéniste in 1698 when he took on two employees, and established himself, like many of his confrères, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, at the corner of the Grande-Rue and the rue de la Roquette. After receiving his maîtrise in 1706, his business evidently prospered as, when he married in 1711, he declared the considerable fortune of 12,000 livres, most of which was tied up in stock, making it one of the most important workshops in Paris after Boulle’s. He is known to have worked closely with the marqueteur Toussaint Devoye, and given the stylistic homogeneity of Sageot’s furniture, it is tempting to think that Devoye’s was one of his chief suppliers of marquetry. In 1720, he largely retired from the business, negotiating the sale of much of his furniture stock to the marchand-mercier Léonard Prieur and his remaining stock of woods to the marchand de bois Claude François Mainguet for the enormous sums of 16,000 and 12,000 livres respectively. This gives a fascinating insight to the sophistication of the furniture trade in Paris at this early date. The most expensive pieces of all the furniture included in the sale to Prieur were armoires or bibliothèques, sold for between 400 and 1,000 livres, indicating the prestigious nature of this part of his production.
The marquetry panels and overall domed form of this armoire, which is designed in the 'antique' manner, closely relates it to an example attributed to Sageot and sold at Christie’s, New York, 17 May 2006, lot 115. The marquetry panels to the doors in particular, are closely related to those visible on a pair of armoires by Sageot with very similar scroll inlays yet centred by a figure of Hercules (sold Christie’s, New York, 13 April 2016, lot 11), and to a second example, also by Sageot, which sold from the collection of Monsieur and Madame François (Christie’s, London 2011, lot 81). Another similarly shaped armoire in red tortoiseshell and formerly in the collection Armand Löwengrad was sold at Koller, Zurich, 27 September 2019, lot 1048.
NICOLAS SAGEOT
Nicolas Sageot’s life and career are remarkably well-documented. Born in 1666 and son of a wine-grower, he is first recorded working as an ébéniste in 1698 when he took on two employees, and established himself, like many of his confrères, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, at the corner of the Grande-Rue and the rue de la Roquette. After receiving his maîtrise in 1706, his business evidently prospered as, when he married in 1711, he declared the considerable fortune of 12,000 livres, most of which was tied up in stock, making it one of the most important workshops in Paris after Boulle’s. He is known to have worked closely with the marqueteur Toussaint Devoye, and given the stylistic homogeneity of Sageot’s furniture, it is tempting to think that Devoye’s was one of his chief suppliers of marquetry. In 1720, he largely retired from the business, negotiating the sale of much of his furniture stock to the marchand-mercier Léonard Prieur and his remaining stock of woods to the marchand de bois Claude François Mainguet for the enormous sums of 16,000 and 12,000 livres respectively. This gives a fascinating insight to the sophistication of the furniture trade in Paris at this early date. The most expensive pieces of all the furniture included in the sale to Prieur were armoires or bibliothèques, sold for between 400 and 1,000 livres, indicating the prestigious nature of this part of his production.