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Lot Essay
Roger van der Cruse, dit Lacroix, maître in 1755.
A COMMODE BY RVLC, DELIVERED BY JOUBERT IN 1771 FOR THE PIÈCE DES NOBLES OF THE COMTE DE PROVENCE AT FONTAINEBLEAU
The stencil mark F N0 75 - 2 on the back of the Wildenstein commode, corresponds to an inventory of the château de Fontainebleau made in September 1787, carried out by Thierry de Ville d'Avray, the recently appointed Intendant General du Garde-Meuble:
Appartement de Monsieur, Pièce des Nobles:
'N0 75. 2 commodes de marqueterie ornées de bronze doré à 2 grands tiroirs formant trois panneaux sur le devant et un de chaque bout encadré d'une moulure de bronze et rosace dans les angles, les dits panneaux plaqués de bois satiné chamois et d'un bouquet de fleurs de bois violette, tous les champs en bois rose et filets de bois violette, boutons, chutes et sabots de bronze doré, dessus de marbre d'Italie, de 4 pieds de large [130 cm], à 1 200 livres [chacune], 2 400 livres, (Archives Nationales, Paris, 01 3398, fol. 60).'
By going back to the previous inventory of Fontainebleau, made in November 1786, which has the numbers of delivery of the Journal du Garde-Meuble instead of the inventory numbers, one finds the commodes described in the same room:
Appartement de Monsieur, Pièce des Nobles:
'N0 2630. 2 commodes de marqueterie ornées de bronze doré à 2 grands tiroirs formant trois panneaux sur le devant et un de chaque bout encadré d'une moul ure de bronze et rosace dans les angles, les dits panneaux plaqués de bois satiné chamois et d'un bouquet de fleurs de bois violette, tous les champs en bois rose et filets de bois violette, boutons, chutes et sabots de bronze doré, dessus de marbre d'Italie, de 4 pieds de large [130 cm] (Archives Nationales, Paris, 01 3397)'.
This is presumably the number that is no longer legible onn the back of the commode.
This state room, which preceded the bedroom of Monsieur, the comte de Provence, brother of Louis XVI, was furnished with two green lacquer corner cupboards, four banquettes and six tabourets which were painted red with gold fillets and covered in Savonnerie. Four more chairs, painted white, were upholstered in crimson velvet and the same crimson was the colour of the eight silk curtains. The room occasionally served as a gaming salon, since four games tables in cherry wood or mahogany are also mentioned there. A large Gobelins tapestry of the Loges du Vatican decorated the main wall, while two Gobelins portières des Saisons and two Savonnerie screens of Les Fables d'Aesope added comfort to the room.
The two commodes were originally delivered to the apartment of the comte de Provence at the time of the yearly stay of the Court at Fontainebleau in September 1771. They were delivered by Gilles Joubert (1689-1775), the marchand-ébéniste appointed fournisseur du garde-meuble Royal between 1751-75. The entry of its delivery is in the Journal du garde meuble de la Couronne (Archives nationales, Paris, 01 3320) on 30 September 1771:
'Joubert. Pour servir dans la pièce des nobles de M. le comte de Provence au château de Fontainebleau:
N02630. Deux commodes à la Régence de bois violet et rose à placages de fleurs unies de plusieurs couleurs, à dessus de marbre Seracolin ayant par devant deux grands tiroirs fermant à clef avec entrées de serrures, rosettes, boutons, carderons, encoignures et guirlandes de feuilles de laurier, chutes, souspentes et pieds, le tout de bronze ciselé et doré d'or moulu, longues de 4 pieds sur 24 pouces de profondeur et 31 pouces de haut' [130 cm. wide x 64.8 cm. deep x 83.7 cm. high].
The distinctive marqueterie en fleurs is shared with the commode of this same overall form - but with a further frieze - delivered by Joubert to the cabinet of the comtesse de Provence at Compiègne on 30 March 1771 (P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, Paris, 1990, no. 12, pp. 66-67).
JOUBERT AND RVLC
The Wildenstein commode was supplied to Fontainebleau on the same day as another, also by RVLC, which was made for the chambre de la Dauphine. As Gillian Wilson noted, in Selection from the Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1983, p. 60, no. 30, Joubert was already in his early 80's when this group of commodes was delivered to the garde-meuble. This fact, together with the enormous number of commissions from the garde-meuble from the late 1760's, clearly explains why Joubert chose to play more of a supervisory role, sub-contracting much of the work to his confrères. The list of Joubert's creditors in 1774 records several of these confrères - including Macret, Boudin, Denizot and others, but the largest debt was owed to R.V.L.C (900 livres). Interestingly, between 1748 and 1774 Joubert delivered more than 4,000 pieces of furniture to the garde-meuble, no less than 169 of which were supplied in 1771.
The 1774 list of Joubert's creditors may well throw some light on the authors of the sculptural ormolu mounts he employed, both the sculpteur-fondeur Etienne Forestier and the ciseleur-doreur Jouniaux being amongst them.
For a full discussion of the relationship between RVLC and Joubert see Alexandre Pradère, Les ebénistes Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1989, pp. 214-215 and Pierre Verlet, French Royal Furniture, London, 1963, pp. 120-122, nos. 11-12.
BOUDIN AND JOUBERT
The marchand-ébéniste Léonard Boudin was one of the sub- contractors employed by Joubert and his stamp is found on several pieces that were also delivered for the comte de Provence by Joubert during the summer of 1771. These include the bureau plat delivered for Compiègne in July 1771 (no. 2620) and the commode (whose delivery, under no. 2631, immediately follows that of the Wildenstein commode) for the cabinet de retraite of the comte de Provence in the same appartement at Fontainebleau (A. Pradère, Les Ebénistes Françaises du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1989, pp. 271-272).
MIDDLETON PARK
In 1804 the nineteen year old Lady Sarah Fane, the granddaughter and heiress of the banker Robert Child, married the 5th Earl of Jersey (1773-1859). Her parents, the Earl and Countess of Westmorland, had eloped and married at Gretna Green in 1782, pursued by the indignant Robert Child. To exact revenge on his son-in-law, Robert Child wrote his will to exclude male grandchildren. Sophia Fane became heiress of his estate and house at Osterley in Middlesex and of Child's Bank itself. In time she became an important political hostess but the early years of her marriage were also occupied with enlarging and presumably furnishing the Jersey family house at Middleton Park in Oxfordshire. Using the architect Thomas Cundy Junior they altered and refaced the house, adding an Ionic portico (H. Colvin, Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, London, 3rd. ed., 1995, p. 285). Contemporary watercolours show fashionable Regency interiors, including a Chinese drawing room. It is also highly likely that the French furniture that was sold in the 1934 house sale was bought at this time. Apart from this commode, the house contained a Transitional ivory-inlaid marquetry jewel-cabinet that was lot 557 in the house sale and later sold from the Jaime Ortiz Patiño collection, Sotheby's New York, 20 May 1992, lot 71. A more unconventional piece of furniture was a sécretaire à abattant with a plaque, probably porcelain but now mirrored, in the centre of the flap. This is known from an inscription to have been given to Sarah, Lady Jersey, by 'Prince Poniatowski' and was sold at Christie's London, 6 April 2000, lot 76. It is most likely that the gift was from one of the French descendants of Prince Josef Poniatowski, the Polish patriot and Napoleonic general who was killed at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. However, given that the secretaire á abattant is English and dates from 1800-1810, it is just possible that it was a gift from the General himself. Quite how he managed to make the gift at the height of the Napoleonic wars is difficult to answer but it may have happened during the Peace of Amiens (March 1802 - March 1803). If so, it raises further possibilities for the origin of the French furniture at Middleton Park, which may also have been bought at this time. It remains most likely that the French furniture was bought after 1815. When sold in the Middleton Park sale, this commode was illustrated and carried a white marble top.
A COMMODE BY RVLC, DELIVERED BY JOUBERT IN 1771 FOR THE PIÈCE DES NOBLES OF THE COMTE DE PROVENCE AT FONTAINEBLEAU
The stencil mark F N0 75 - 2 on the back of the Wildenstein commode, corresponds to an inventory of the château de Fontainebleau made in September 1787, carried out by Thierry de Ville d'Avray, the recently appointed Intendant General du Garde-Meuble:
Appartement de Monsieur, Pièce des Nobles:
'N0 75. 2 commodes de marqueterie ornées de bronze doré à 2 grands tiroirs formant trois panneaux sur le devant et un de chaque bout encadré d'une moulure de bronze et rosace dans les angles, les dits panneaux plaqués de bois satiné chamois et d'un bouquet de fleurs de bois violette, tous les champs en bois rose et filets de bois violette, boutons, chutes et sabots de bronze doré, dessus de marbre d'Italie, de 4 pieds de large [130 cm], à 1 200 livres [chacune], 2 400 livres, (Archives Nationales, Paris, 01 3398, fol. 60).'
By going back to the previous inventory of Fontainebleau, made in November 1786, which has the numbers of delivery of the Journal du Garde-Meuble instead of the inventory numbers, one finds the commodes described in the same room:
Appartement de Monsieur, Pièce des Nobles:
'N0 2630. 2 commodes de marqueterie ornées de bronze doré à 2 grands tiroirs formant trois panneaux sur le devant et un de chaque bout encadré d'une moul ure de bronze et rosace dans les angles, les dits panneaux plaqués de bois satiné chamois et d'un bouquet de fleurs de bois violette, tous les champs en bois rose et filets de bois violette, boutons, chutes et sabots de bronze doré, dessus de marbre d'Italie, de 4 pieds de large [130 cm] (Archives Nationales, Paris, 01 3397)'.
This is presumably the number that is no longer legible onn the back of the commode.
This state room, which preceded the bedroom of Monsieur, the comte de Provence, brother of Louis XVI, was furnished with two green lacquer corner cupboards, four banquettes and six tabourets which were painted red with gold fillets and covered in Savonnerie. Four more chairs, painted white, were upholstered in crimson velvet and the same crimson was the colour of the eight silk curtains. The room occasionally served as a gaming salon, since four games tables in cherry wood or mahogany are also mentioned there. A large Gobelins tapestry of the Loges du Vatican decorated the main wall, while two Gobelins portières des Saisons and two Savonnerie screens of Les Fables d'Aesope added comfort to the room.
The two commodes were originally delivered to the apartment of the comte de Provence at the time of the yearly stay of the Court at Fontainebleau in September 1771. They were delivered by Gilles Joubert (1689-1775), the marchand-ébéniste appointed fournisseur du garde-meuble Royal between 1751-75. The entry of its delivery is in the Journal du garde meuble de la Couronne (Archives nationales, Paris, 01 3320) on 30 September 1771:
'Joubert. Pour servir dans la pièce des nobles de M. le comte de Provence au château de Fontainebleau:
N02630. Deux commodes à la Régence de bois violet et rose à placages de fleurs unies de plusieurs couleurs, à dessus de marbre Seracolin ayant par devant deux grands tiroirs fermant à clef avec entrées de serrures, rosettes, boutons, carderons, encoignures et guirlandes de feuilles de laurier, chutes, souspentes et pieds, le tout de bronze ciselé et doré d'or moulu, longues de 4 pieds sur 24 pouces de profondeur et 31 pouces de haut' [130 cm. wide x 64.8 cm. deep x 83.7 cm. high].
The distinctive marqueterie en fleurs is shared with the commode of this same overall form - but with a further frieze - delivered by Joubert to the cabinet of the comtesse de Provence at Compiègne on 30 March 1771 (P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, Paris, 1990, no. 12, pp. 66-67).
JOUBERT AND RVLC
The Wildenstein commode was supplied to Fontainebleau on the same day as another, also by RVLC, which was made for the chambre de la Dauphine. As Gillian Wilson noted, in Selection from the Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1983, p. 60, no. 30, Joubert was already in his early 80's when this group of commodes was delivered to the garde-meuble. This fact, together with the enormous number of commissions from the garde-meuble from the late 1760's, clearly explains why Joubert chose to play more of a supervisory role, sub-contracting much of the work to his confrères. The list of Joubert's creditors in 1774 records several of these confrères - including Macret, Boudin, Denizot and others, but the largest debt was owed to R.V.L.C (900 livres). Interestingly, between 1748 and 1774 Joubert delivered more than 4,000 pieces of furniture to the garde-meuble, no less than 169 of which were supplied in 1771.
The 1774 list of Joubert's creditors may well throw some light on the authors of the sculptural ormolu mounts he employed, both the sculpteur-fondeur Etienne Forestier and the ciseleur-doreur Jouniaux being amongst them.
For a full discussion of the relationship between RVLC and Joubert see Alexandre Pradère, Les ebénistes Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1989, pp. 214-215 and Pierre Verlet, French Royal Furniture, London, 1963, pp. 120-122, nos. 11-12.
BOUDIN AND JOUBERT
The marchand-ébéniste Léonard Boudin was one of the sub- contractors employed by Joubert and his stamp is found on several pieces that were also delivered for the comte de Provence by Joubert during the summer of 1771. These include the bureau plat delivered for Compiègne in July 1771 (no. 2620) and the commode (whose delivery, under no. 2631, immediately follows that of the Wildenstein commode) for the cabinet de retraite of the comte de Provence in the same appartement at Fontainebleau (A. Pradère, Les Ebénistes Françaises du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1989, pp. 271-272).
MIDDLETON PARK
In 1804 the nineteen year old Lady Sarah Fane, the granddaughter and heiress of the banker Robert Child, married the 5th Earl of Jersey (1773-1859). Her parents, the Earl and Countess of Westmorland, had eloped and married at Gretna Green in 1782, pursued by the indignant Robert Child. To exact revenge on his son-in-law, Robert Child wrote his will to exclude male grandchildren. Sophia Fane became heiress of his estate and house at Osterley in Middlesex and of Child's Bank itself. In time she became an important political hostess but the early years of her marriage were also occupied with enlarging and presumably furnishing the Jersey family house at Middleton Park in Oxfordshire. Using the architect Thomas Cundy Junior they altered and refaced the house, adding an Ionic portico (H. Colvin, Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, London, 3rd. ed., 1995, p. 285). Contemporary watercolours show fashionable Regency interiors, including a Chinese drawing room. It is also highly likely that the French furniture that was sold in the 1934 house sale was bought at this time. Apart from this commode, the house contained a Transitional ivory-inlaid marquetry jewel-cabinet that was lot 557 in the house sale and later sold from the Jaime Ortiz Patiño collection, Sotheby's New York, 20 May 1992, lot 71. A more unconventional piece of furniture was a sécretaire à abattant with a plaque, probably porcelain but now mirrored, in the centre of the flap. This is known from an inscription to have been given to Sarah, Lady Jersey, by 'Prince Poniatowski' and was sold at Christie's London, 6 April 2000, lot 76. It is most likely that the gift was from one of the French descendants of Prince Josef Poniatowski, the Polish patriot and Napoleonic general who was killed at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. However, given that the secretaire á abattant is English and dates from 1800-1810, it is just possible that it was a gift from the General himself. Quite how he managed to make the gift at the height of the Napoleonic wars is difficult to answer but it may have happened during the Peace of Amiens (March 1802 - March 1803). If so, it raises further possibilities for the origin of the French furniture at Middleton Park, which may also have been bought at this time. It remains most likely that the French furniture was bought after 1815. When sold in the Middleton Park sale, this commode was illustrated and carried a white marble top.