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Lot Essay
With its finely chased mounts, distinctive marquetry and overall impeccable construction, this superb bureau is undoubtedly the work of Bernard II van Risen Burgh (‘BVRB’), arguably the greatest ébéniste of the Louis XV period.
BERNARD VAN RISEN BURGH
Received maître in 1730, BVRB worked almost exclusively for the important Parisian marchands-merciers of the mid-18th Century, such as Thomas-Joachim Hébert, Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier. His collaboration with the foremost marchands-merciers allowed him to use ormolu mounts of exceptional quality, 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 that he either designed his own mounts or retained a bronzier for his exclusive use. His mounts are further characterized by an impeccable ciselure and a consistency of quality throughout.
These powerful and innovative dealers would have supplied the celebrated ébéniste with rich and exotic materials such as Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain, which were then incorporated into his finest pieces and sold to the most prestigious clientèle. Although BVRB is recorded to have collaborated with different marchands, thereby catering to their individual demands, he developed a highly personal and distinctive style which makes his oeuvre instantly recognisable.
BVRB is also credited with reviving the great marquetry tradition of Louis XIV masters such as André-Charles Boulle, and especially the development of a particularly refined form of end-cut marquetry known as 'bois de bout' marquetry. This technique which he employed frequently is featured to the interior of the bureau offered here.
It is interesting to note that BVRB’s oeuvre was first discussed in 1957 when the link was established between the 'BVRB' stamp and the then unknown - yet prodigious - ébéniste (J.P. Baroli, 'Le mysterieux B.V.R.B enfin identifié', Connaissance des Arts, March, 1957, pp. 56-63).
RELATED BUREAUX EN PENTE
In the 1740s, BVRB developed a new range of luxurious, small-scale items of furniture destined for petits appartements or small cabinets de retraite, usually the domain of a lady of high rank and extremely luxuriously decorated. Commissioned and possibly designed by the marchands-merciers with whom he collaborated closely, these were again most often decorated with superb marquetry panels or lacquer, sometimes mounted with porcelain tablettes, framed by lavish ormolu mounts. One of the these smaller, more feminine, models was the secrétaire, a curvaceous writing desk with a hinged slanted flap, now generally known as a bureau en (or de) pente. One of the earliest examples of such bureaux, which is related to the present lot, is the superb marquetry bureau supplied by Thomas-Joachim Hébert in 1745 for the Cabinet Interieur of the Dauphine, Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, at Versailles (D. Meyer, Le Mobilier de Versailles, vol. I, Dijon, 2002, pp. 108-111, no. 29). Hébert's successor, Lazare Duvaux, further developed this design in the late 1740s into an even more richly-mounted type decorated with antique Japanese lacquer panels; his Livre-Journal, which records his sales between 1749 until 1758, indeed lists three such secrétaires.
The present bureau is closely related to two bureaux de dame stamped ‘BVRB’, each featuring a striking sun-rayed parquetry and distinctive ‘chutes aux fleurs’ angle mounts; the first was formerly in the collection of Baron Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879), and remained in the family until sold at Christie's, London, 13 June 2002, lot 50 (£402,650) [reproduced here]. The second example, virtually identical to the Rothschild example, formerly in the Espirito Santo Collection, was sold ‘The Exceptional Sale’, Christie’s, London, 5 July 2012, lot 26 (£769,250 with premium) also illustrated here. Interestingly, the finely-chased rocaille mount to the frieze of the present bureau also features to the sides of the Rothschild example; whilst the acanthus mounts which adorn the sides of the bureau here offered also appear to the sides of the above-mentioned bureau sold in 2012. A further closely related example executed circa 1745, and stamped by both BVRB and Matthieu Criaerd, is in the Collections of the Duke of Buccleuch at Boughton House, Northamptonshire (illustrated T. Murdoch, ed., Boughton House, The English Versailles, London, 1992, p. 124, fig.118).
MARY CHARLOTTE, BARONESS FOLEY
The interlaced initials 'MCF' featured on the label affixed to the present bureau, most probably correspond to those of Mary Charlotte, Baroness Foley (1822-1897), daughter of Henry, 13th Duke of Norfolk, who married Thomas Henry, 4th Baron Foley of Kidderminster in 1849. It is likely that the bureau was her personal property, and the badge used to differentiate t from her husband's family possessions. The 4th Baron inherited Witley Court in Worcestershire but was forced o sell the estate in 1837, due to mounting debts. It is therefore probable that the present bureau de dame as marked as the property of Baroness Foley to avoid falling in the the hands of the 4th Baron's creditors. As the couple had two sons, neither of whom produced an heir, it is most certain that the desk was bequeathed to each of them before being sold at auction or privately.
BERNARD VAN RISEN BURGH
Received maître in 1730, BVRB worked almost exclusively for the important Parisian marchands-merciers of the mid-18th Century, such as Thomas-Joachim Hébert, Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier. His collaboration with the foremost marchands-merciers allowed him to use ormolu mounts of exceptional quality, 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 that he either designed his own mounts or retained a bronzier for his exclusive use. His mounts are further characterized by an impeccable ciselure and a consistency of quality throughout.
These powerful and innovative dealers would have supplied the celebrated ébéniste with rich and exotic materials such as Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain, which were then incorporated into his finest pieces and sold to the most prestigious clientèle. Although BVRB is recorded to have collaborated with different marchands, thereby catering to their individual demands, he developed a highly personal and distinctive style which makes his oeuvre instantly recognisable.
BVRB is also credited with reviving the great marquetry tradition of Louis XIV masters such as André-Charles Boulle, and especially the development of a particularly refined form of end-cut marquetry known as 'bois de bout' marquetry. This technique which he employed frequently is featured to the interior of the bureau offered here.
It is interesting to note that BVRB’s oeuvre was first discussed in 1957 when the link was established between the 'BVRB' stamp and the then unknown - yet prodigious - ébéniste (J.P. Baroli, 'Le mysterieux B.V.R.B enfin identifié', Connaissance des Arts, March, 1957, pp. 56-63).
RELATED BUREAUX EN PENTE
In the 1740s, BVRB developed a new range of luxurious, small-scale items of furniture destined for petits appartements or small cabinets de retraite, usually the domain of a lady of high rank and extremely luxuriously decorated. Commissioned and possibly designed by the marchands-merciers with whom he collaborated closely, these were again most often decorated with superb marquetry panels or lacquer, sometimes mounted with porcelain tablettes, framed by lavish ormolu mounts. One of the these smaller, more feminine, models was the secrétaire, a curvaceous writing desk with a hinged slanted flap, now generally known as a bureau en (or de) pente. One of the earliest examples of such bureaux, which is related to the present lot, is the superb marquetry bureau supplied by Thomas-Joachim Hébert in 1745 for the Cabinet Interieur of the Dauphine, Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, at Versailles (D. Meyer, Le Mobilier de Versailles, vol. I, Dijon, 2002, pp. 108-111, no. 29). Hébert's successor, Lazare Duvaux, further developed this design in the late 1740s into an even more richly-mounted type decorated with antique Japanese lacquer panels; his Livre-Journal, which records his sales between 1749 until 1758, indeed lists three such secrétaires.
The present bureau is closely related to two bureaux de dame stamped ‘BVRB’, each featuring a striking sun-rayed parquetry and distinctive ‘chutes aux fleurs’ angle mounts; the first was formerly in the collection of Baron Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879), and remained in the family until sold at Christie's, London, 13 June 2002, lot 50 (£402,650) [reproduced here]. The second example, virtually identical to the Rothschild example, formerly in the Espirito Santo Collection, was sold ‘The Exceptional Sale’, Christie’s, London, 5 July 2012, lot 26 (£769,250 with premium) also illustrated here. Interestingly, the finely-chased rocaille mount to the frieze of the present bureau also features to the sides of the Rothschild example; whilst the acanthus mounts which adorn the sides of the bureau here offered also appear to the sides of the above-mentioned bureau sold in 2012. A further closely related example executed circa 1745, and stamped by both BVRB and Matthieu Criaerd, is in the Collections of the Duke of Buccleuch at Boughton House, Northamptonshire (illustrated T. Murdoch, ed., Boughton House, The English Versailles, London, 1992, p. 124, fig.118).
MARY CHARLOTTE, BARONESS FOLEY
The interlaced initials 'MCF' featured on the label affixed to the present bureau, most probably correspond to those of Mary Charlotte, Baroness Foley (1822-1897), daughter of Henry, 13th Duke of Norfolk, who married Thomas Henry, 4th Baron Foley of Kidderminster in 1849. It is likely that the bureau was her personal property, and the badge used to differentiate t from her husband's family possessions. The 4th Baron inherited Witley Court in Worcestershire but was forced o sell the estate in 1837, due to mounting debts. It is therefore probable that the present bureau de dame as marked as the property of Baroness Foley to avoid falling in the the hands of the 4th Baron's creditors. As the couple had two sons, neither of whom produced an heir, it is most certain that the desk was bequeathed to each of them before being sold at auction or privately.