Lot Essay
Etienne Doirat (1675-1732) set up his workshop in the Cour de la Contrescarpe des Fosses de la Bastille in 1726, and in 1731 leased a store in the fashionable rue Saint-Honoré. Distinguished as one of the few ébénistes of the Régence period to occasionally stamp his pieces, the overall form, parquetry and mounts of this commode are recurrent features throughout his oeuvre. As a result of the inventory taken following his death in 1732, which effectively discloses that Doirat kept exclusive control of his bronze mounts, not only retaining the lead models but also the unchased mounts and finished examples, it is possible to attribute certain pieces on the basis of the mounts alone. This inventory further reveals that Doirat was making two-drawer commodes of this type, described as 'commodes à la Régence' by 1732 (J.-D. Augarde, 'Etienne Doirat, Menuisier en ébène', J. Paul Getty Museum, vol. 13, 1985, pp. 33-52).