BY CLAUDE-CHARLES SAUNIER, CIRCA 1770

Details

A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED TULIPWOOD AND AMARANTH BUREAU PLAT
BY CLAUDE-CHARLES SAUNIER, CIRCA 1770
The inset leather top above three frieze drawers opposing three false drawers, on square tapering legs ending in square sabot, stamped C.C. SAUNIER to underside
30 ½ in. (77.5 cm.) high, 63 ¾ in. (161 cm.) wide, 31 in. (78.75 cm.) deep

Provenance

The Doris Duke Collection; Christie's, New York, 3-5 June 2004, lot 294.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Lot Essay

Claude-Charles Saunier, maître in 1752.

Descending from a family of ébénistes, Saunier was accepted into the community and the workshop of his father, Jean-Charles, in 1757, which was located in the rue Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Claude-Charles briefly continued to work in the Louis XV style and then rapidly adopted the neoclassic designs of the Transitional and Louis XVI periods that he appears to have favored, and for which he is now renowned. Saunier's success was not confined to France and his reputation reached London through his work for the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre (F.J.B. Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, London, 1960, no. 145, pp. 134-5, fig. 145).

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