BY FRANCOIS GARNIER, CIRCA 1740

François Garnier (d. 1760), Parisian ‘maître et marchand ébéniste’ and father of the celebrated Pierre Garnier (maître in 1742), was one of the leading Parisian ébénistes of the Louis XV period, creating furniture of exemplary craftsmanship from his substantial workshop on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. The present bureau typifies the fashion for furniture mounted with exotic lacquer or 'vernis' imitating lacquer which was controlled by the marchand-merciers. Garnier’s collaboration with the marchands is well-documented, supplying furniture to Michel Héceguerre, Anjubaut and Nicolas Héricourt among others (C. Huchet de Quénetain, ‘The origin of a Parisian dynasty of craftsmen and artists: François Garnier (d. 1760) maître menuisier- ébéniste, Furniture History Society, vol. XLVIII, 2012, pp. 117-118). His collaboration with Parisian luxury dealers may explain his use of two different stamps, his initialed stamp ‘F. GARNIER’ and the 'F.G.’ stamp which appears three times on present commode. Holding the title of ‘maître et marchand ébéniste’, Garnier was not excessively dependent on the clientele of the Parisian marchands. It is possible, therefore, that he used the 'F.G.’ stamp to denote furniture from his workshop retailed by another dealer, reserving the 'F. GARNIER’ stamp for when he acted as marchand.