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Lot Essay
Embellished with the coat-of-arms of the Dauphin of France, this precious casket was almost certainly made around 1690 by Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt (c. 1639-1715) for the Grand Dauphin, eldest son and heir of Louis XIV.
Oppenordt and Boulle
This costly and complicated marquetry technique, combining tortoiseshell with various metals and woods, was more widely practised in Paris from circa 1675 by a small group of cabinet-makers who were largely based in Royal workshops of the Galleries du Louvre. This type of marquetry soon became synonymous with the Ébéniste du Roi, Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), who developed and perfected this technique. However, Boulle was not the first to have incorporated metal into his marquetry patterns. Jean Talon (d. after 1695) was appointed Ébéniste du Roi in 1663, a title awarded to him for his 'furnishings in metal combined with other materials' (J.R. Ronfort (ed.), Andre Charles Boulle, Paris, 2009, p. 89).
Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt, a contemporary of Boulle, and in many ways his most important rival, was also famed for his precious marquetry furniture. Establishing his atelier at the Louvre in 1684, and thereafter also known as Ébéniste Ordinaire du Roi, Oppenordt's first Royal commission was for twelve marquetry medal cabinets, costing 3600 Livres. These were almost certainly executed after designs by Jean Bérain (1637-1711), also based at the Louvre and with whom he collaborated extensively (A. Pradere, Les Ébénistes Français, Paris, 1989, pp. 62-65). In 1685, Oppenordt executed two extraordinary bureaux brisées in tortoiseshell and brass marquetry for the petit cabinet de Sa Majeste at Versailles, one of which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (J.R. Ronfort, 'Le Mobilier Royal a l époque de Louix XIV 1685; Versailles et le Bureau du Roi' in Estampille, April 1986, pp. 44-50). Again with marquetry designed by Bérain, this bureau is embellished with the Royal cypher of interlaced Ls beneath a crown and a fleur-de-lys to each corner. With its intricate geometric strapwork patterns covering all surfaces, this bureau demonstrates Oppenordt's ability as a highly skilled marquetteur. His characteristic style set him apart from other cabinet-makers employing this technique, especially Boulle, the latter employing various large figurative scenes and more undulating shapes, giving his furniture a sculptural effect. Besides the bureaux made by Oppenordt for Versailles, only a small number of marquetry pieces can with certainty be credited to him, either from documented commissions or based on stylistic comparison. This includes a sarcophagus-shaped commode in the Wallace Collection, following a design by Bérain and executed around 1695. Produced around the same date is the marquetry floor of the Swedish State Coach, for which he received the sum of 600 Livres in 1696. With its highly complex arrangement of interlaced and radiating patterns, this tour-de-force of marquetry is one of his most accomplished and celebrated pieces. (A. Pradere, op. cit., pp. 64-65).
A casket for the Grand Dauphin (1661-1711)
Richly-decorated with tortoiseshell, brass and blue horn marquetry with Royal coat-of-arms and emblems specific to the Dauphin, the present casket is an exciting new addition to the oeuvre of Oppenordt. The slightly domed lid is centred by the Dauphin’s coat-of-arms beneath a Royal crown incorporating dolphins. This is set within extensive strapwork incorporating dolphins and Ls. To each corner there are smaller cartouches with interlaced Ls beneath a similar crown. To the front the Grand Dauphin's coat-of-arms appears again, in a smaller form, and is flanked by cartouches with dolphins entwined with Ls; these cartouches are repeated to the sides where they are centred by finely-chased handles in the form of dolphins. The casket rests on similarly-chased ormolu feet shaped as entwined dolphins. A precious work of art with a very personal character, every surface of this casket is covered with decorative motifs emblematic of the Grand Dauphin’s exalted status, but also referring to his presumed future as King Louis XV; the underside is centred by a cypher with ‘XV’ within interlaced scrolling Ls shaped as dolphins, a very private message only for him or his close circle to see.
Based on comparison with Oppenordt’s documented marquetry furniture executed during the last two decades of the 17th century, the Grand Dauphin’s casket can be dated with certainty to circa 1690, placing it just after the Versailles bureaux of 1685 and just before the above-mentioned Sarcophagus commode and Swedish State coach floor, both made circa 1695-96. The casket’s marquetry patterns incorporate various cartouches with interlaced Ls which can be found on the Versailles bureaux and the crowns which appear on both were almost certainly engraved by the same hand. Interestingly, some of the foliate-edged strapwork to the casket’s lid is very closely related to that found on the Swedish State coach floor. On the latter, it evolves into more liberally scrolling forms, anticipating Oppenordt’s last phase of marquetry furniture.
As demonstrated by his documented pieces, Oppenordt developed a distinctive, personal style, especially for his marquetry furniture supplied to Royal patrons, characterised by profuse and finely-engraved geometric patterns incorporating bold Royal insignia. His individual style sets his work apart from Boulle’s marquetry furniture and that of some of their followers, such as Nicolas Sageot (1666-1731) and Bernard I van Risenburgh (1660-1738). Interestingly, some of the dolphin motifs on this casket appear almost identical to those on a group of three guéridons by Pierre Gole (1620-1685), appointed Ébéniste du Roi in 1651, who preceded Boulle and Oppenordt as one of the King’s principle cabinet-makers. Decorated with marquetry of tortoiseshell, brass, tin and ebony, these guéridons were executed around 1680 by Gole for the Grand Dauphin (T. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Pierre Gole, Ébéniste de Louis XIV, Dijon, 2005, pp. 202-217). Discreetly positioned within dense marquetry, the dolphins rest on flat sections of strapwork to the guéridons; Oppenordt uses this dolphin motif to create a variant of ‘Dauphin’ cartouches with scrolling dolphins resting on the base sections of the Ls.
Highly prized and occasionally deeply symbolic, various related caskets are recorded in a number of late 17th Century inventories and were depicted by the most prominent artists of the day. A similar casket appears on Charles Le Brun’s 1674-1676 ‘La Résurrection’ , where it is filled with coins and jewels. In L’Inventaire du mobilier de la Couronne sous Louis XIV published by J. Guiffrey in 1886, we find an entry for an object whose description sounds close to this casket: 'Cassette de marqueterie avec son pieds [sic] enrichie de Dauphins et autres ornements de cuivre gravez et dorés' which the additional note 'deschargé', signifying that it left the Royal collection at some point.
The Grand Dauphin and his collections
The Grand Dauphin (1661-1711), known at court as Monseigneur, was the son of Louis XIV and Queen Marie-Thérèse of France. He married Anne-Marie-Christine of Bavaria and had three sons, but predeceased his father dying at the age of fifty without having ever reigned, so that Louis XIV was eventually succeeded by his great-grandson. A frequent visitor to Paris’ cultural attractions, he was an ardent enthusiast of the opera, and a notorious patron of the arts. A passionate collector of precious works of art and furniture, the Grand Dauphin was particularly enamoured by tortoiseshell marquetry, and his first purchases of furniture decorated in this technique, around 1680, were almost certainly the guéridons by Gole. In 1682, Boulle started work on the Grand Dauphin’s apartment at Versailles, which would be the largest commission of Boulle’s career. For this series of rooms, intended for ceremonial use and to house his collections, Boulle's involvement extended far beyond the execution of furniture. For the Cabinet des Glaces, Boulle supplied wall-panelling, mirrors and even ceilings, decorated with gilt-bronze and marquetry, intended as a suitable cadre for his collections of gemstones and pieces of rock crystal, agate, sardonyx, lapis lazuli. All mounted in gilt bronze, silver-gilt, silver or gold, and all of them reflected and multiplied (J.R. Ronfort, op. cit., p 69).
Perfectly suited to be exhibited among the treasures in the Cabinet des Glaces at Versailles, the present casket is an exciting, newly-discovered example of Oppenordt’s Royal furniture, almost certainly supplied circa 1685 to the Grand Dauphin.
Oppenordt and Boulle
This costly and complicated marquetry technique, combining tortoiseshell with various metals and woods, was more widely practised in Paris from circa 1675 by a small group of cabinet-makers who were largely based in Royal workshops of the Galleries du Louvre. This type of marquetry soon became synonymous with the Ébéniste du Roi, Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), who developed and perfected this technique. However, Boulle was not the first to have incorporated metal into his marquetry patterns. Jean Talon (d. after 1695) was appointed Ébéniste du Roi in 1663, a title awarded to him for his 'furnishings in metal combined with other materials' (J.R. Ronfort (ed.), Andre Charles Boulle, Paris, 2009, p. 89).
Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt, a contemporary of Boulle, and in many ways his most important rival, was also famed for his precious marquetry furniture. Establishing his atelier at the Louvre in 1684, and thereafter also known as Ébéniste Ordinaire du Roi, Oppenordt's first Royal commission was for twelve marquetry medal cabinets, costing 3600 Livres. These were almost certainly executed after designs by Jean Bérain (1637-1711), also based at the Louvre and with whom he collaborated extensively (A. Pradere, Les Ébénistes Français, Paris, 1989, pp. 62-65). In 1685, Oppenordt executed two extraordinary bureaux brisées in tortoiseshell and brass marquetry for the petit cabinet de Sa Majeste at Versailles, one of which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (J.R. Ronfort, 'Le Mobilier Royal a l époque de Louix XIV 1685; Versailles et le Bureau du Roi' in Estampille, April 1986, pp. 44-50). Again with marquetry designed by Bérain, this bureau is embellished with the Royal cypher of interlaced Ls beneath a crown and a fleur-de-lys to each corner. With its intricate geometric strapwork patterns covering all surfaces, this bureau demonstrates Oppenordt's ability as a highly skilled marquetteur. His characteristic style set him apart from other cabinet-makers employing this technique, especially Boulle, the latter employing various large figurative scenes and more undulating shapes, giving his furniture a sculptural effect. Besides the bureaux made by Oppenordt for Versailles, only a small number of marquetry pieces can with certainty be credited to him, either from documented commissions or based on stylistic comparison. This includes a sarcophagus-shaped commode in the Wallace Collection, following a design by Bérain and executed around 1695. Produced around the same date is the marquetry floor of the Swedish State Coach, for which he received the sum of 600 Livres in 1696. With its highly complex arrangement of interlaced and radiating patterns, this tour-de-force of marquetry is one of his most accomplished and celebrated pieces. (A. Pradere, op. cit., pp. 64-65).
A casket for the Grand Dauphin (1661-1711)
Richly-decorated with tortoiseshell, brass and blue horn marquetry with Royal coat-of-arms and emblems specific to the Dauphin, the present casket is an exciting new addition to the oeuvre of Oppenordt. The slightly domed lid is centred by the Dauphin’s coat-of-arms beneath a Royal crown incorporating dolphins. This is set within extensive strapwork incorporating dolphins and Ls. To each corner there are smaller cartouches with interlaced Ls beneath a similar crown. To the front the Grand Dauphin's coat-of-arms appears again, in a smaller form, and is flanked by cartouches with dolphins entwined with Ls; these cartouches are repeated to the sides where they are centred by finely-chased handles in the form of dolphins. The casket rests on similarly-chased ormolu feet shaped as entwined dolphins. A precious work of art with a very personal character, every surface of this casket is covered with decorative motifs emblematic of the Grand Dauphin’s exalted status, but also referring to his presumed future as King Louis XV; the underside is centred by a cypher with ‘XV’ within interlaced scrolling Ls shaped as dolphins, a very private message only for him or his close circle to see.
Based on comparison with Oppenordt’s documented marquetry furniture executed during the last two decades of the 17th century, the Grand Dauphin’s casket can be dated with certainty to circa 1690, placing it just after the Versailles bureaux of 1685 and just before the above-mentioned Sarcophagus commode and Swedish State coach floor, both made circa 1695-96. The casket’s marquetry patterns incorporate various cartouches with interlaced Ls which can be found on the Versailles bureaux and the crowns which appear on both were almost certainly engraved by the same hand. Interestingly, some of the foliate-edged strapwork to the casket’s lid is very closely related to that found on the Swedish State coach floor. On the latter, it evolves into more liberally scrolling forms, anticipating Oppenordt’s last phase of marquetry furniture.
As demonstrated by his documented pieces, Oppenordt developed a distinctive, personal style, especially for his marquetry furniture supplied to Royal patrons, characterised by profuse and finely-engraved geometric patterns incorporating bold Royal insignia. His individual style sets his work apart from Boulle’s marquetry furniture and that of some of their followers, such as Nicolas Sageot (1666-1731) and Bernard I van Risenburgh (1660-1738). Interestingly, some of the dolphin motifs on this casket appear almost identical to those on a group of three guéridons by Pierre Gole (1620-1685), appointed Ébéniste du Roi in 1651, who preceded Boulle and Oppenordt as one of the King’s principle cabinet-makers. Decorated with marquetry of tortoiseshell, brass, tin and ebony, these guéridons were executed around 1680 by Gole for the Grand Dauphin (T. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Pierre Gole, Ébéniste de Louis XIV, Dijon, 2005, pp. 202-217). Discreetly positioned within dense marquetry, the dolphins rest on flat sections of strapwork to the guéridons; Oppenordt uses this dolphin motif to create a variant of ‘Dauphin’ cartouches with scrolling dolphins resting on the base sections of the Ls.
Highly prized and occasionally deeply symbolic, various related caskets are recorded in a number of late 17th Century inventories and were depicted by the most prominent artists of the day. A similar casket appears on Charles Le Brun’s 1674-1676 ‘La Résurrection’ , where it is filled with coins and jewels. In L’Inventaire du mobilier de la Couronne sous Louis XIV published by J. Guiffrey in 1886, we find an entry for an object whose description sounds close to this casket: 'Cassette de marqueterie avec son pieds [sic] enrichie de Dauphins et autres ornements de cuivre gravez et dorés' which the additional note 'deschargé', signifying that it left the Royal collection at some point.
The Grand Dauphin and his collections
The Grand Dauphin (1661-1711), known at court as Monseigneur, was the son of Louis XIV and Queen Marie-Thérèse of France. He married Anne-Marie-Christine of Bavaria and had three sons, but predeceased his father dying at the age of fifty without having ever reigned, so that Louis XIV was eventually succeeded by his great-grandson. A frequent visitor to Paris’ cultural attractions, he was an ardent enthusiast of the opera, and a notorious patron of the arts. A passionate collector of precious works of art and furniture, the Grand Dauphin was particularly enamoured by tortoiseshell marquetry, and his first purchases of furniture decorated in this technique, around 1680, were almost certainly the guéridons by Gole. In 1682, Boulle started work on the Grand Dauphin’s apartment at Versailles, which would be the largest commission of Boulle’s career. For this series of rooms, intended for ceremonial use and to house his collections, Boulle's involvement extended far beyond the execution of furniture. For the Cabinet des Glaces, Boulle supplied wall-panelling, mirrors and even ceilings, decorated with gilt-bronze and marquetry, intended as a suitable cadre for his collections of gemstones and pieces of rock crystal, agate, sardonyx, lapis lazuli. All mounted in gilt bronze, silver-gilt, silver or gold, and all of them reflected and multiplied (J.R. Ronfort, op. cit., p 69).
Perfectly suited to be exhibited among the treasures in the Cabinet des Glaces at Versailles, the present casket is an exciting, newly-discovered example of Oppenordt’s Royal furniture, almost certainly supplied circa 1685 to the Grand Dauphin.