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Lot Essay
This richly mounted corner cabinet, adorned with putti emblematic of the Arts and Sciences beneath draped and lambrequined canopies, appears to be identical to the bases of a pair of cabinets with glazed superstructures, attributed to the celebrated ébéniste Charles Cressent (1685-1768), described in the sale of the collection of M. d'Ennery in Paris on 11 December 1786 as 'Deux armoires en forme d'encoignure, de bois des Indes, aussi par Cressent; elles sont ceintrées sur la face et s'ouvrent par le bas de deux battants pleins; il y a dans le haut deux autres portes garnies chacune d'une glace centrée; le tout orné de petites moulures à ornements, filets, gorges, chapiteaux de pilastres, agraffes et de quatre sujets d'enfants, represent l'Astronomie, la Poésie, la Peinture et la Musique; hauteur totale septs pieds, largeur trois pieds six pouces.'
Another pair of corner cabinets of this form, extensively adapted in the 19th century, was sold Christie's New York, 26 October 1994, lot 88 (also illustrated in A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, London, 1989, p. 133, fig. 94).
Charles Cressent was one of the few ébénistes to be recognized by name throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, along with Boulle and Riesener. The son of the Sculpteur du Roi, François Cressent, his fame rests largely on the extraordinarily sculptural nature of his mounts, his cabinet-work often merely providing the framework for their spectacular quality. This was due to his early training as a sculptor under Girardon and Le Lorrain, and to the fact that from an early stage in his career he flouted gild regulations by producing his own mounts, thus creating a remarkably homogenous whole between bronzes and ébénisterie.
Another pair of corner cabinets of this form, extensively adapted in the 19th century, was sold Christie's New York, 26 October 1994, lot 88 (also illustrated in A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, London, 1989, p. 133, fig. 94).
Charles Cressent was one of the few ébénistes to be recognized by name throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, along with Boulle and Riesener. The son of the Sculpteur du Roi, François Cressent, his fame rests largely on the extraordinarily sculptural nature of his mounts, his cabinet-work often merely providing the framework for their spectacular quality. This was due to his early training as a sculptor under Girardon and Le Lorrain, and to the fact that from an early stage in his career he flouted gild regulations by producing his own mounts, thus creating a remarkably homogenous whole between bronzes and ébénisterie.