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Lot Essay
This elegant bureau de dame, with jewel-like chiseled mounts framing panels of sun-rayed parquetry, is a masterpiece of Bernard II van Risen Burgh, arguably the greatest cabinet-maker of the Louis XV period, and a prime example of his splendid marquetry, exquisite construction and superb mounts.
BERNARD VAN RISEN BURGH
Bernard II van Risen Burgh ('BVRB') received his maîtrise in 1730 and worked almost exclusively for the most important Parisian marchands-merciers of the day, such as Thomas-Joachim Hébert, Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier. His work is characterized by a superb construction combined with extensive use of exotic materials such as Oriental and European lacquer and, later in his career, Sèvres porcelain plaques. He was also credited with reviving the great marquetry tradition of the Louis XIV masters such as André-Charles Boulle, developing for example a particularly refined form of end-cut marquetry known as 'bois de bout', which he employs on the interior of this superb bureau.
His collaboration with the foremost marchand-merciers allowed him to employ exceptional ormolu mounts, the funding of which would have been too expensive for any ébéniste working independently. Most mounts employed by BVRB are unique to his oeuvre, suggesting he either designed his own mounts or retained a bronzier for his exclusive use, and characterized by a perfect ciselure and consistency of quality throughout.
Only one virtually identical bureau is known, with the same striking sun-rayed parquetry and the distinctive mounts, though featuring an additional slide beneath the sloping flap. It was part of the collection of Baron Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879) and remained in the family until it was sold at Christie's, London, 13 June 2002, lot 50 (£402,650) [see illustration].
THE CHUTES AUX FLEURS
The splendid angle mounts of this bureau, known as chutes aux fleurs, cast with fruit, lush foliage and flowers, were one of the richest models used by BVRB and employed only on his most luxurious commissions. Such chutes aux fleurs also decorate the bureau de dame made by BVRB and supplied by Hébert for the cabinet de retraite of the Dauphine, the son of Louis XV, at Versailles [see illustration] as well as a bureau plat supplied by the marchand-mercier Lebrun in 1747 to the Dauphin for the bibliothèque in his appartments at Versailles (P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Francais, Paris, 1990, vol IV, pp 40-41). They are also used on a secrétaire en pente, now in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon (M.I. Pereira Coutinho, 18th century French furniture, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1999, pp. 156-159) and feature on another bureau by BVRB, now in the Palace of the Legion of Honour, San Francisco, where they are combined with a slightly simpler pattern of parquetry (see C. Packer, Paris Furniture by the Master Ebénistes, Newport, 1956, fig. 55).
The 'C' couronné poinçon, found on the spectacular ormolu mounts of this bureau, was a tax mark used in France between March 1745 and February 1749 on any alloy containing copper.
BERNARD VAN RISEN BURGH
Bernard II van Risen Burgh ('BVRB') received his maîtrise in 1730 and worked almost exclusively for the most important Parisian marchands-merciers of the day, such as Thomas-Joachim Hébert, Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier. His work is characterized by a superb construction combined with extensive use of exotic materials such as Oriental and European lacquer and, later in his career, Sèvres porcelain plaques. He was also credited with reviving the great marquetry tradition of the Louis XIV masters such as André-Charles Boulle, developing for example a particularly refined form of end-cut marquetry known as 'bois de bout', which he employs on the interior of this superb bureau.
His collaboration with the foremost marchand-merciers allowed him to employ exceptional ormolu mounts, the funding of which would have been too expensive for any ébéniste working independently. Most mounts employed by BVRB are unique to his oeuvre, suggesting he either designed his own mounts or retained a bronzier for his exclusive use, and characterized by a perfect ciselure and consistency of quality throughout.
Only one virtually identical bureau is known, with the same striking sun-rayed parquetry and the distinctive mounts, though featuring an additional slide beneath the sloping flap. It was part of the collection of Baron Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879) and remained in the family until it was sold at Christie's, London, 13 June 2002, lot 50 (£402,650) [see illustration].
THE CHUTES AUX FLEURS
The splendid angle mounts of this bureau, known as chutes aux fleurs, cast with fruit, lush foliage and flowers, were one of the richest models used by BVRB and employed only on his most luxurious commissions. Such chutes aux fleurs also decorate the bureau de dame made by BVRB and supplied by Hébert for the cabinet de retraite of the Dauphine, the son of Louis XV, at Versailles [see illustration] as well as a bureau plat supplied by the marchand-mercier Lebrun in 1747 to the Dauphin for the bibliothèque in his appartments at Versailles (P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Francais, Paris, 1990, vol IV, pp 40-41). They are also used on a secrétaire en pente, now in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon (M.I. Pereira Coutinho, 18th century French furniture, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1999, pp. 156-159) and feature on another bureau by BVRB, now in the Palace of the Legion of Honour, San Francisco, where they are combined with a slightly simpler pattern of parquetry (see C. Packer, Paris Furniture by the Master Ebénistes, Newport, 1956, fig. 55).
The 'C' couronné poinçon, found on the spectacular ormolu mounts of this bureau, was a tax mark used in France between March 1745 and February 1749 on any alloy containing copper.