Lot 440
LOUIS XIV EBONY, EBONISED FRUITWOOD, AND IVORY MARQUETRY AND ORMOLU MOUNTED COMMODE, POSSIBLY BY AUBERTIN GAUDRON Y
CIRCA 1700
Auction: Day Two | Thurs 13th Nov at 10am | Lots 339 to 600
Description
the ormolu banded top inlaid with a central urn filled with flowers including tulips, jasmine and carnations, all enclosed by elaborate scrolling foliage, butterflies and birds, over two short and three long drawers of arc-en-arbalète form, panelled to simulate short drawers with conforming marquetry and centred by grotesque ormolu mounts, flanked by angles with foliate term ormolu chutes, on short bracket feet, the sides further decorated with marquetry vases of flowers and leafy scrolls
Dimensions
116cm wide, 85cm high, 62cm deep
Footnote
This exceptional commode, richly decorated with marquetry of flower-filled vases, scrolling rinceaux, and bearded grotesques, exemplifies the Louis XIV period’s interest in peinture en bois, the technique of creating painterly effects through marquetry. Elaborate floral marquetry of this type was produced in Paris after 1670, notably at the Gobelins, and popularized by André-Charles Boulle and Pierre Gole. A commode with almost identical marquetry panels to the top and sides is attributed to a contemporary of Boulle, Aubertin Gaudron (active circa 1670-1700), whose workshop was in the rue Saint-Honoré. In his capacity as the supplier to the Garde Meuble between 1686 and 1713 Gaudron provided numerous pieces in wood marquetry for the court, with clients including the Prince de Condé, the duc de Chartres, and the duc d'Anjou. In 1715 Gaudron delivered a similarly decorated marquetry commode to the château de Compiègne. That piece was described as:
“…de bois de plusieurs couleurs fond d’ébène ornée milieu d’un vase rempli de fleurs posé sur un bout de table et un masque grotesque au dessous le reste rempli de rinceaux fleurs oiseaux et papillons au naturel…”
The description closely aligns with the iconography and decorative vocabulary seen on the marquetry top of the present commode.
Related examples include a commode formerly in the collection of Ogden Phipps, sold at Christie’s, New York, 23 November 2010, lot 330 ($110,000 excluding premium), and another from the Wildenstein Collection, sold at Christie’s, London, 14–15 December 2005, lot 115 (£70,000 excluding premium).
Literature:
P. Ramond, André-Charles Boulle, Turin, 2012, p. 147.
P. Kjellberg, Le Meuble Francais et Europeen du Moyen Age a nos jours, Paris 1991, p 92.
Please be aware that this lot contains material which may be subject to import/export restrictions, especially outside the EU, due to CITES regulations. Please note it is the buyer's sole responsibility to obtain any relevant export or import licence. For more information visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/imports-exports/cites/
Sold in compliance with UK Government and APHA regulations, with (non-transferable) exemption registration reference ZBXAXTFH