BY GERVAIS-MAXIMILIEN-EUGÈNE DURAND, PARIS, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Specialising in the production of 18th century style furniture of the finest quality, Gervais-Maximillien-Eugène Durand (b. 1839) worked from a number of workshop locations in Paris during the last quarter of the 19th century. With his son Frédéric-Louis joining him in around 1890, the firm altered its name to Durand et Fils. Producing furniture made to the highest standards, reviewing Durand's contributions to the 1889 Paris Exposition universelle, Alfred Picard commented ‘M. Durand, ébéniste aussi habile que modeste, expose pour la première fois des meubles de premier ordre, dont il est à la fois le dessinateur et l’exécutant, il marche sur la voie tracée par les maîtres tells que Beurdeley ou Dasson’ (C. Payne, Paris Furniture: The luxury market of the 19th century, Paris, 2018, pp.338-341)