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Lot Essay
These grand, imposing commodes adorned with ambitious gilt-bronze mounts, inset with imitation gilt and black lacquer and Jasperware plaques, are impressive in scale and execution. Though apparently unmarked, they employ all the hallmarks of the celebrated 19th century makers such as Emmanuel-Alfred Buerdeley, Henry Dasson and Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener, whose expertise developed from in depth study of models by the Royal cabinetmakers of the 18th century like Jean-François Oeben and Jean-Henri Riesener. This correlation and homage to the models that captured the imagination of 19th century clientele is further evidenced by the inlaid inscription to the interior of each door, OEBEN PARIS / FECIT 1764, clearly an homage.
The design for this pair of commodes draws influence from the famous bureau du Roi, designed by Jean-François Oeben. Both an ébéniste and a mécanicien specializing in luxurious pieces of furniture incorporating elaborate mechanisms, Oeben presented his sketches and a wax model to Louis XV and in turn accommodated the king’s own modifications in his final design. When Oeben died three years later only the carcass had been finished with some of the marquetry executed and some of the bronzes cast. The desk was completed however under the direction of Oeben’s widow who employed, and then married, a former apprentice of her late husband, Jean-Henri Riesener. The magnificent sculptural gilt-bronze mounts were executed by Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis and Louis-Auguste Hervieux. Though the final bureau only bear’s Riesener’s signature, Oeben’s influence is equally present from the delicate marquetry to the advanced technicality of the roll-top mechanism.
The mounts on the corners with festooned laurels in celebration of 'abundance through labor', hung with lion-pelts recalling Hercules' labors, and inlaid with flowers issuing from Ceres' 'horns of abundance' are inspired by those found on the corners of the bureau du Roi. The inset jasperware plaques echo those on either side of the bureau, similarly depicting L’Amour et L’Hyménée and Les Trois Grâces.
A chef-d’oeuvre of French craftsmanship, bronze-work and collaboration amongst the important makers of the 18th century, the bureau du Roi is of the most celebrated pieces of furniture in the world, further indicated in the proliferation of copies made throughout the 19th century by leading Parisian ébénistes. Emmanuel-Alfred (known as Alfred II) Beurdeley (1847-1919) exhibited a bureau du Roi at the Chicago Word’s fair of 1893, subsequently acquired by George Gould and sold at Christie’s, New York, 20 April 2018, lot 18 ($900,500). The motifs were represented in a variety of forms, including a pair of commodes and pedestals attributed to Alphonse Lambert and Adolphe-Armand Truffier (sold Christie's, New York, 26 October 2004, lots 425, $231,500 and 426, $119,500) as well as a pedestal attributed to Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener (sold Christie's, New York, 25 October 2007, lot 339, $85,000) both retailed by the firm of Boudet. Operating from large premises at 43, boulevard des Capucines from 1886, and on the place Vendôme after 1908, Boudet was one of the most important Parisian retailers of quality furniture, silver and bronze decorations. Boudet's stock included works by the premier cabinet makers and sculptors of the time, included Linke, Maison Millet, and Zweiner, who’s works he purchased in both finished and partially finished states. Leon Message is even documented as working with Boudet on an unspecified armoire, recorded on a sheet of paper in the private archive. The long established firm of Jansen also purchased works by his contemporary ébénistes like Zweiner and Linke, both of whom served as shareholders of Jansen et Cie, developed in 1891. Jansen's atelier closely followed the techniques of the ancien régime in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their spirited use of Japanned lacquer combined with modern interpretations of traditional forms recalled the innovative combinations of exotic materials employed by the marchands merciers of 18th Century Paris. The firm also produced copies of the famed bureau, one was illustrated in the publication Les Arts in 1902 (illustrated.) The remarkable interconnected network of Parisian makers of the 19th century resulted in close collaboration and similarities in their works. The ingenuity of design on the present pair of commodes is on par with the output of these makers.
The design for this pair of commodes draws influence from the famous bureau du Roi, designed by Jean-François Oeben. Both an ébéniste and a mécanicien specializing in luxurious pieces of furniture incorporating elaborate mechanisms, Oeben presented his sketches and a wax model to Louis XV and in turn accommodated the king’s own modifications in his final design. When Oeben died three years later only the carcass had been finished with some of the marquetry executed and some of the bronzes cast. The desk was completed however under the direction of Oeben’s widow who employed, and then married, a former apprentice of her late husband, Jean-Henri Riesener. The magnificent sculptural gilt-bronze mounts were executed by Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis and Louis-Auguste Hervieux. Though the final bureau only bear’s Riesener’s signature, Oeben’s influence is equally present from the delicate marquetry to the advanced technicality of the roll-top mechanism.
The mounts on the corners with festooned laurels in celebration of 'abundance through labor', hung with lion-pelts recalling Hercules' labors, and inlaid with flowers issuing from Ceres' 'horns of abundance' are inspired by those found on the corners of the bureau du Roi. The inset jasperware plaques echo those on either side of the bureau, similarly depicting L’Amour et L’Hyménée and Les Trois Grâces.
A chef-d’oeuvre of French craftsmanship, bronze-work and collaboration amongst the important makers of the 18th century, the bureau du Roi is of the most celebrated pieces of furniture in the world, further indicated in the proliferation of copies made throughout the 19th century by leading Parisian ébénistes. Emmanuel-Alfred (known as Alfred II) Beurdeley (1847-1919) exhibited a bureau du Roi at the Chicago Word’s fair of 1893, subsequently acquired by George Gould and sold at Christie’s, New York, 20 April 2018, lot 18 ($900,500). The motifs were represented in a variety of forms, including a pair of commodes and pedestals attributed to Alphonse Lambert and Adolphe-Armand Truffier (sold Christie's, New York, 26 October 2004, lots 425, $231,500 and 426, $119,500) as well as a pedestal attributed to Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener (sold Christie's, New York, 25 October 2007, lot 339, $85,000) both retailed by the firm of Boudet. Operating from large premises at 43, boulevard des Capucines from 1886, and on the place Vendôme after 1908, Boudet was one of the most important Parisian retailers of quality furniture, silver and bronze decorations. Boudet's stock included works by the premier cabinet makers and sculptors of the time, included Linke, Maison Millet, and Zweiner, who’s works he purchased in both finished and partially finished states. Leon Message is even documented as working with Boudet on an unspecified armoire, recorded on a sheet of paper in the private archive. The long established firm of Jansen also purchased works by his contemporary ébénistes like Zweiner and Linke, both of whom served as shareholders of Jansen et Cie, developed in 1891. Jansen's atelier closely followed the techniques of the ancien régime in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their spirited use of Japanned lacquer combined with modern interpretations of traditional forms recalled the innovative combinations of exotic materials employed by the marchands merciers of 18th Century Paris. The firm also produced copies of the famed bureau, one was illustrated in the publication Les Arts in 1902 (illustrated.) The remarkable interconnected network of Parisian makers of the 19th century resulted in close collaboration and similarities in their works. The ingenuity of design on the present pair of commodes is on par with the output of these makers.