ATTRIBUTED TO DAVID ROENTGEN, CIRCA 1785, PARTIALLY LATER MOUNTED

Details

A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY BUREAU A GRADIN
ATTRIBUTED TO DAVID ROENTGEN, CIRCA 1785, PARTIALLY LATER MOUNTED
Mounted overall with mille raie panels, the superstructure fitted side compartments with conceded graduated spring-loaded hidden mahogany-lined drawers, above three drawers, the leather-lined writing surface above a frieze drawer flanked by a pair of cupboard doors, each enclosing a compartment with drawers and concealing a hinged rear compartment comprising three drawers and three sham drawers, the reverse finished, spuriously stamped three times 'J. H. RIESENER' and once 'JME', with partial ink label inscribed 'Seligmann', with a further label inscribed '...de M. Seligmann/19 Oct. 1934', some alterations to central locking mechanism
47 ½ in. (120.5 cm.) high, 62 ¼ in. (158 cm.) wide, 36 in. (91.25 cm.) deep

Provenance

By repute Duc d'Avray, Château de Mareil Le Guyon.
The Seligmann Collection; sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 14-15 June 1981, lot 76.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 4 May 1985, lot 283.
The Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection; sold Christie's, New York, 20 October 1993, lot 373.
Galerie Segoura, Paris.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 20 April 2007, lot 137.

Literature

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Grands Ebénistes et Menuisiers Parisiens du XVIIIe Siècle 1740-1790, ex. cat., Paris, 1955, pl. 44, cat. 261.
N. Reynies, Le Mobilier domestique, Vol. 1, 3rd edition, Paris, 2003, p. 383, ill. 1370.

Exhibited

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, Grands Ebénistes et Menuisiers Parisiens du XVIIIe Siècle, December 1955- February 1956, No. 261.

Special notice

Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square not collected from Christie’s by 5.00 pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Cadogan Tate. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Cadogan Tate Ltd. All collections will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Alexandra Cruden

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Lot Essay

With its unusual architectural form and fine mechanical construction, this spectacular desk was without doubt executed by the most sophisticated German cabinetmaker David Roentgen (1743-1807).

Comparison of this bureau à gradin with the lower section of documented cylinder desks made by Roentgen, such as the one in Versailles (probably purchased by Louis XVI in 1781) or that acquired by George IV and now at Buckingham Palace, would allow a dating of this desk to circa 1785-86. The elaborate concealed and hinged drawer structure is also a characteristic found on a number of Roentgen pieces (J.M. Greber, Abraham und David Roentgen, Möbel für Europa, vol. II, 1980, figs. 374, 400, 434, 538, 544, 665). A cylinder bureau with the same distinctive base was sold anonymously at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 7 January 1955, lot 318 and related stepped spring-loaded drawers are seen on the superstructure of a cylinder bureau by Roentgen illustrated in J.M Greber, op. cit, pls. 683-84.

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