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Lot Essay
Bernard II van Risenburgh, maître in 1733.
This elegant bureau plat is a brilliant example of the talent of one of the most important cabinet-makers of Louis XV's reign, Bernard II van Risenburgh, or BVRB, who elevated the Rococo style to the height of refinement. His many collaborations with the most important marchands-merciers of his time, such as Thomas-Joachim Hébert, Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier, enabled him to design furniture of unprecedented opulence for a wealthy clientele.
Although BVRB collaborated with different marchands and was constrained by their individual demands, he developed a highly personal and distinctive style which makes his work instantly recognizable. Perhaps the most significant sign is the exceptional quality of his mounts. Their impeccable ciselure lends them a sculptural fluidity unmatched by his contemporaries and most are unique to his oeuvre. This not only identifies his work but also suggests that unlike other ébénistes, he either designed his own mounts or retained a bronzier for his exclusive use. BVRB is also credited with reviving the great marquetry tradition of Louis XIV masters such as André-Charles Boulle, and especially the development of a particularly refined form of end-cut inlay known as 'bois de bout' marquetry. The marchands-merciers also supplied him with precious materials such as Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain, which were later incorporated into his finest creations.
BVRB’s oeuvre is most often associated with small occasional tables, while full scale bureaux plats are much less common and do not appear on the market as frequently. The most recent example was sold Rothschild Masterpieces; Christie’s New York, 11 October 2023, lot 35 ($1,260,000).
This exceptional desk features many of BVRB's hallmarks, including the floral decoration executed in bois de bout marquetry in kingwood on a tulipwood ground, and the distinctive models of finely chased mounts, and it belongs to a group of recorded bureaux by BVRB. The desks most closely related include one sold Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 7 May 1942, lot 20 (see J. Nicolay, L’Art et la Manière des Maîtres Ebénistes Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1976, p. 85, fig. E), and another with identical ormolu mounts and reputedly from the collection of King Umberto of Italy, sold Sotheby's Monaco, 3 March 1990. Other known examples are a smaller desk very similar in form and delivered for the library of the Dauphin, son of Louis XV at Versailles (see P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, Paris, 1990, vol. IV, p. 40-41); another stamped bureau plat with identical mounts flanking the central drawer in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (see Y. Hackenbroch and J. Parker, The Leslie and Emma Schaefer Collection, a Selective Presentation, 1975, n. 7 and also W. Rieder, ‘BVRB at the Metropolitan,’ Apollo, January 1994. p. 33); another stamped example from the former collection of Mr. and Mrs. Alfonso Landa, sold Sotheby's Parke Bernet, New York, May 7, 1977, lot 107; a small bureau with identical escutcheons, formerly in the Porges Collection, sold Christie's London, 7 December 1995, lot 108; and finally a bureau plat preserved in the Cleveland Museum of Art (inv. no. 44123).
This elegant bureau plat is a brilliant example of the talent of one of the most important cabinet-makers of Louis XV's reign, Bernard II van Risenburgh, or BVRB, who elevated the Rococo style to the height of refinement. His many collaborations with the most important marchands-merciers of his time, such as Thomas-Joachim Hébert, Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier, enabled him to design furniture of unprecedented opulence for a wealthy clientele.
Although BVRB collaborated with different marchands and was constrained by their individual demands, he developed a highly personal and distinctive style which makes his work instantly recognizable. Perhaps the most significant sign is the exceptional quality of his mounts. Their impeccable ciselure lends them a sculptural fluidity unmatched by his contemporaries and most are unique to his oeuvre. This not only identifies his work but also suggests that unlike other ébénistes, he either designed his own mounts or retained a bronzier for his exclusive use. BVRB is also credited with reviving the great marquetry tradition of Louis XIV masters such as André-Charles Boulle, and especially the development of a particularly refined form of end-cut inlay known as 'bois de bout' marquetry. The marchands-merciers also supplied him with precious materials such as Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain, which were later incorporated into his finest creations.
BVRB’s oeuvre is most often associated with small occasional tables, while full scale bureaux plats are much less common and do not appear on the market as frequently. The most recent example was sold Rothschild Masterpieces; Christie’s New York, 11 October 2023, lot 35 ($1,260,000).
This exceptional desk features many of BVRB's hallmarks, including the floral decoration executed in bois de bout marquetry in kingwood on a tulipwood ground, and the distinctive models of finely chased mounts, and it belongs to a group of recorded bureaux by BVRB. The desks most closely related include one sold Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 7 May 1942, lot 20 (see J. Nicolay, L’Art et la Manière des Maîtres Ebénistes Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1976, p. 85, fig. E), and another with identical ormolu mounts and reputedly from the collection of King Umberto of Italy, sold Sotheby's Monaco, 3 March 1990. Other known examples are a smaller desk very similar in form and delivered for the library of the Dauphin, son of Louis XV at Versailles (see P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, Paris, 1990, vol. IV, p. 40-41); another stamped bureau plat with identical mounts flanking the central drawer in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (see Y. Hackenbroch and J. Parker, The Leslie and Emma Schaefer Collection, a Selective Presentation, 1975, n. 7 and also W. Rieder, ‘BVRB at the Metropolitan,’ Apollo, January 1994. p. 33); another stamped example from the former collection of Mr. and Mrs. Alfonso Landa, sold Sotheby's Parke Bernet, New York, May 7, 1977, lot 107; a small bureau with identical escutcheons, formerly in the Porges Collection, sold Christie's London, 7 December 1995, lot 108; and finally a bureau plat preserved in the Cleveland Museum of Art (inv. no. 44123).