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Lot Essay
This elegant table de poudreuse is conceived in the Dutch Louis XV style of the late 1760s or 1770s and reflects the fashion for French furniture, which grew consistently in the 18th Century. French furniture was in fact imported in such large quantities into Holland that posed a threat to local craftmen. In is interesting, that, in an attempt to put a ban on the influx from furniture from abroad, the guilds of furniture-makers of Amsterdam and The Hague filed official complaints with their city counsil, respectively in 1770 and 1771.
As a result, numerous Dutch cabinet-makers attempted to emulate the fashionable French style. Although furniture embellished with 'French' marquetry was undoubtably produced in several Ducth towns, it was probably most admired in The Hague, where, as the base of the Stadholder's Court and foreign embassies, the French Court style had been a significant influence on the decorative arts and architecture throughout the 18th Century. (R.J. Baarsen, ''In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag', Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de tweede helft van de 18de eeuw', Oud Holland 107 (1993), p. 163.
The first Hague cabinet-maker to master the French style may have been Matthieu Franses (ca.1726-1788). Franses, who hailed from Kempen in Germany, had been based in The Hague since at least 1751, and managed a succesful atelier, with 10 workbenches, which catered to a fashionable clientle. Although no items of furniture can be attributed to him, Franses' advertisement in the 's Gravenhaegse Courant of 6 May 1761, reflects his innovative French-inspired cabinet-making :'MATHIEU FRANSES, Matre menuisier Haye dans le Hoogstraat, l'Enseigne du Noyer, avertit le Public, qu'il fait et vend des Commones [sic] & tables incrustes de lme de Cuivres dorees au feu, & faites la Franoise...' (Baarsen, ibid, pp. 163-4)
See illustration
As a result, numerous Dutch cabinet-makers attempted to emulate the fashionable French style. Although furniture embellished with 'French' marquetry was undoubtably produced in several Ducth towns, it was probably most admired in The Hague, where, as the base of the Stadholder's Court and foreign embassies, the French Court style had been a significant influence on the decorative arts and architecture throughout the 18th Century. (R.J. Baarsen, ''In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag', Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de tweede helft van de 18de eeuw', Oud Holland 107 (1993), p. 163.
The first Hague cabinet-maker to master the French style may have been Matthieu Franses (ca.1726-1788). Franses, who hailed from Kempen in Germany, had been based in The Hague since at least 1751, and managed a succesful atelier, with 10 workbenches, which catered to a fashionable clientle. Although no items of furniture can be attributed to him, Franses' advertisement in the 's Gravenhaegse Courant of 6 May 1761, reflects his innovative French-inspired cabinet-making :'MATHIEU FRANSES, Matre menuisier Haye dans le Hoogstraat, l'Enseigne du Noyer, avertit le Public, qu'il fait et vend des Commones [sic] & tables incrustes de lme de Cuivres dorees au feu, & faites la Franoise...' (Baarsen, ibid, pp. 163-4)
See illustration