IN THE MANNER OF CHARLES CRESSENT, BY JULES ALLARD ET FILS, PARIS/NEW YORK, EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Following a successful career in Paris studded with various awards and medals from various Expositions Universelles, the firm of Jules Allard et Fils sought to direct production towards a wealthy American clientele and in 1885 opened a large branch in New York. Collaborating with the Gilded Age's leading architects, Allard's most important commissions included, among others, furnishings for the Vanderbilt Newport mansions, Marble House and The Breakers as well as The Elms for Edward J. Berwind. A monumental fire-surround by the firm and sculptor Louis Ardisson sold Christie's, New York, 11 April 2007, lot 150 ($528,000).

Inspired by Charles Cressent's commode aux enfants balanant un singe dating to 1749-1755, the present secretaire-commode demonstates the continued fascination and demand for furnishings copying the ancien régime.