Lot Essay
Noël Gérard, flourished 1690-1736
Noël Gérard, who was the half-brother of the ébéniste Jacques Dubois, married the widow of a 'menusisier en ébène' at the age of 25 in 1710. He was firstly a marchand-ébéniste, based in the rue de Faubourg St. Antoine, but became marchand-mercier on the 17 July 1726. Established in the celebrated hôtel of the 17th Century connoisseur Jabach, Gérards boutique became one of the most important in Paris. After 10 years of intense productivity Noël Gérard died in 1737. In the inventory drawn up following his death, 6 workbenches are mentioned, clearly indicating that this marchand-ébéniste did not give up his primary occupation. This inventory also lists 23 bureaux, which were either constrastingly ebonised or veneered in kingwood and amaranth. The use of tortoiseshell veneers had become unfashionable and only two armoires are mentioned, both of which found a new owner only with difficulty (for instance the Beloselsky- Belozersky armoire, sold anonymously at Christie's Monaco, 18 June 1989, lot 212).
This bureau was executed circa 1725 and it is unusual in its lack of protective mouldings for the legs and the frieze.
The lion-mask angle-mounts are directly inspired by the oeuvre of André-Charles Boulle (d. 1732), and featured on a pair of commodes, formerly in the Wildenstein Collection, sold from the collection of Akkram Ojjeh, Sotheby's London, 25 June 1979, lot 31.
Noël Gérard, who was the half-brother of the ébéniste Jacques Dubois, married the widow of a 'menusisier en ébène' at the age of 25 in 1710. He was firstly a marchand-ébéniste, based in the rue de Faubourg St. Antoine, but became marchand-mercier on the 17 July 1726. Established in the celebrated hôtel of the 17th Century connoisseur Jabach, Gérards boutique became one of the most important in Paris. After 10 years of intense productivity Noël Gérard died in 1737. In the inventory drawn up following his death, 6 workbenches are mentioned, clearly indicating that this marchand-ébéniste did not give up his primary occupation. This inventory also lists 23 bureaux, which were either constrastingly ebonised or veneered in kingwood and amaranth. The use of tortoiseshell veneers had become unfashionable and only two armoires are mentioned, both of which found a new owner only with difficulty (for instance the Beloselsky- Belozersky armoire, sold anonymously at Christie's Monaco, 18 June 1989, lot 212).
This bureau was executed circa 1725 and it is unusual in its lack of protective mouldings for the legs and the frieze.
The lion-mask angle-mounts are directly inspired by the oeuvre of André-Charles Boulle (d. 1732), and featured on a pair of commodes, formerly in the Wildenstein Collection, sold from the collection of Akkram Ojjeh, Sotheby's London, 25 June 1979, lot 31.