Half-moon shape in mesh sycamore veneer called “silver gray satin wood” inlaid in a mosaic of diamonds delimited by a double net of ebony and boxwood, in amaranth frames. They open in belt to a large central drawer forming a writing desk lined with gilded green morocco with small irons revealing two small drawers; two side drawers each operated by a push button and two leaves in the lower part revealing an interior with nine drawers and a large locker (probably a missing chest drawer) in mahogany and mahogany veneer; laterally framed by three shelves. They rest on sheath feet.
Stamped JH Riesener.
Veined white marble top (cracks on the shelves)
Louis XVI period around 1784-1785
Rich decoration of chiseled and gilded bronzes such as frames, pearl friezes, keyholes adorned with cupids and CD and JM figures, apron, gallery and clogs.
(Restorations, small veneer accidents)
The leaves were probably decorated in the first third of the XNUMXth century with oval plates in hard porcelain with polychrome decoration representing the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly.
H:95 W:149 D:53 cm
H:95 W:149,5 D:53,5 cm
Origin :
Private collection
Robert W. Hudson Collection, Villa Paloma: -1950 inventory; -1934 inventory
By family tradition former collection of the Duke of Sutherland
Of German origin, Jean-Henri Riesener, the most famous cabinetmaker of the reign of Louis XVI, trained in Paris in the workshop of his compatriot Jean-François Œben. When the latter died in 1763, he helped his widow to maintain the activity of the workshop. In 1767, he married the widow of Œben, which facilitated his accession to the mastery in
1768. He succeeded Joubert as supplier of Crown furniture in 1774, a position he held until the Revolution. Cabinetmaker appointed to Queen Marie-Antoinette but become too expensive, he was supplanted by cabinetmaker Guillaume Beneman.
The construction of these chests of drawers corresponds to the technical perfection that one is entitled to expect when it comes to the cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener: the name of this cabinetmaker is always synonymous with quality of execution: architecture of the furniture, choice of wood, elegance of the line, delicacy of the marquetry, flawless finish.
This type of mosaic marquetry of lozenges with a meshed sycamore ground described in the inventories of the Royal Furniture Store “silver gray satin wood” surrounded by a double net of ebony and boxwood is characteristic of Riesener's production in the years 1785 .
Indeed he received an order in July 1784 and delivered on December 21 for the small apartments of Queen Marie-Antoinette at the Tuileries Palace: a chest of drawers (inv. OA 10276), a bedside table (inv. OA 10307), a toilet (inv.T 551c) intended for the queen's bedroom now kept in the Louvre museum and a
secretary (inv. OA 5226)1 in her interior cabinet today at the Petit Trianon.
A chest of drawers quite comparable to the one we are presenting was once at Etienne Lévy's2. We can also cite the use of this marquetry at Riesener on a secretaire with a flap formerly in the Ségoura gallery in Paris3 and a corner4. If Riesener provides furniture for the crown and furnishes the castles of Marly, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Saint Cloud...he also works for a private clientele and counts among his sponsors the dukes of: Larochefoulcauld, Biron, Praslin, Grimod de la Reynière
The chests of drawers were found in 1934, according to the inventory carried out during the first half of October, in the dining room mentioned in the 19th sheet: "2. Between two Louis XVI, rich marquetry, gilded and chiseled copper . 2 painted and porcelain medallions. »
The room is richly furnished "Extendable oval table, four caned armchairs, eleven varnished wooden chairs, two sideboards, richly painted veneer and marquetry, two urn vases with key closure in veneer and marquetry, two blue potiche vases, Chinese porcelain , golden sconces, two potiche vases
blues, Chinese porcelain, game table (veneer and marquetry), half-moon sideboard, with doors and drawers, key closures (veneer and marquetry), oak sideboard with two drawers, screen with gilt wood frames, 4 round healthy mirrors. Rich fabric panels. 4 richly carved bronze candlesticks, 4 candlesticks. A large chandelier 6
branches, cut beads and crystal pendants. 3 Pair of “wine” curtains with rods and rings. »
In the inventory of December 1950, they are described in the same room under n° 189 sheet 11: “Two marquetry sideboards, numerous interior drawers, application of bronzes and porcelain plates, white marble top, Louis XVI style ... 150 F”.
The piece includes:
- A large marquetry table, bronze sconces with three-cornered feet...................................20 F
- Nine chairs and two armchairs, English style, covered with velvet.................................... .......60 F
- Six small armchairs in varnished wood, marquetry nets, caned bottom, red cushion..................30 F
- Two sideboards in marquetry and paint applications, English manufacture.. 30 F
- A small folding table, English work in marquetry, English work....................................... 15F
- And a sideboard in sculpted oak, marble top ............................................ ..............................1.500 F
These chests of drawers are considered important pieces of furniture
1- The chest of drawers, the bedside table and the secretary: Cf: Daniel alcouffe, Anne Dion-Tennenbaum, Amaury Lefébure, Le Mobilier du musée du Louvre Tome I, Dijon 1993, Faton Ed., p. 280-285, no. 93-94-95.
The toilet at the Petit Trianon: Cf: Daniel Meyer, Le Mobilier de Versailles, Tome I, Dijon 2002, Faton Ed., p.244-246, n°63.
2- Alexandre Pradère, Les Ebénistes Français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, 1989, le Chêne Ed. p.314, Fig.468.: is this the one that figured in the Paris sale December 15, 1923 n°5.
3- opus quoted Pradère p. 382 Fig. 465.
4-Paris sale December 15, 1923 no.
Full Description