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Lot Essay
Mathieu Criaerd, maître in 1747.
This charming table has the rare distinction of being one of a handful of pieces made by ébeéniste, Mathieu Criaerd, that can be specifically traced to the appartement of the daughters of Louis XV, Mesdames de France Adélaïde, Sophie et Victoire, at the château de Fontainebleau. Originally delivered by ébéniste de la Couronne, Gilles Joubert on 27 September 1758, the table was - according to the Archives - recorded in the chambre of Madame Adélaïde. In its original form, it had two levels of shelving, each with a brèche d'alep marble top, and was fitted with two ormolu handles that permitted its easy transfer from the garde robe to the bedside of the princess. This table is subsequently recorded in the garde robe of the dauphin, son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antonette in the Fontainebleau inventory of 1787. It would appear, therefore, that the modifications to the table - the enclosure of the sides and replacement of the upper-most tier with a wooden top - took place sometime after the fall of the Ancien Régime.
That this table is connected to Joubert is of interest because he supplied over 4,000 pieces to the royal family at numerous residences between 1748 and 1774 (A. Pradère, Les Ébénistes Français de Louis XIV à La Révolution, 1989, pg. 209). Criaerd was one of the many ébénistes with whom Joubert collaborated to create works such as a small encoignure for the dauphine at the château de Compiègne, a table de nuit for Madame de Pompadour at the château de Choisy and, as the present table suggests, a table de nuit for Louis XV's daughters at Fontainebleau (A. Pradère op. cit. p. 224).
This charming table has the rare distinction of being one of a handful of pieces made by ébeéniste, Mathieu Criaerd, that can be specifically traced to the appartement of the daughters of Louis XV, Mesdames de France Adélaïde, Sophie et Victoire, at the château de Fontainebleau. Originally delivered by ébéniste de la Couronne, Gilles Joubert on 27 September 1758, the table was - according to the Archives - recorded in the chambre of Madame Adélaïde. In its original form, it had two levels of shelving, each with a brèche d'alep marble top, and was fitted with two ormolu handles that permitted its easy transfer from the garde robe to the bedside of the princess. This table is subsequently recorded in the garde robe of the dauphin, son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antonette in the Fontainebleau inventory of 1787. It would appear, therefore, that the modifications to the table - the enclosure of the sides and replacement of the upper-most tier with a wooden top - took place sometime after the fall of the Ancien Régime.
That this table is connected to Joubert is of interest because he supplied over 4,000 pieces to the royal family at numerous residences between 1748 and 1774 (A. Pradère, Les Ébénistes Français de Louis XIV à La Révolution, 1989, pg. 209). Criaerd was one of the many ébénistes with whom Joubert collaborated to create works such as a small encoignure for the dauphine at the château de Compiègne, a table de nuit for Madame de Pompadour at the château de Choisy and, as the present table suggests, a table de nuit for Louis XV's daughters at Fontainebleau (A. Pradère op. cit. p. 224).