.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
With its frieze bearing fleur de lys that were defaced in the French Revolution, this remarkable console was almost certainly commissioned for a member of the Royal family, and possibly supplied by the Royal cabinet maker Georges Jacob (1739-1814). A related console attributed to Jacob with similar distinctive ‘pattes d’autruches’ or ‘ostriche feet’ was delivered to the comte d’ Artois for his cabinet Turc at the château de Versailles in 1781, now in the Louvre (OA5234).
The present lot is a fascinating testament to the political and cultural turbulence wrought by the French revolution and its aftermath. Following the French revolution, in an act of iconoclasm, all traces of the fallen monarchy were removed. The fleur de lys, the most potent symbol of the French monarchy for a millennium, was consequently a prime target for Revolutionaries, whether appearing on works of art, furniture or even architectural fixtures, such as the fleur de lys decoration to the columns in the chapel of the château de Versailles.
The console almost certainly came into the collection of the de Croÿ family in 1814 when Louis XVIII restored to the family their Parisian townhouse the hôtel de Croÿ d'Havré which had been confiscated during the revolution and all its furnishings sold. Used as the Dutch Embassy and the Ministry of War in the Directoire and Empire periods, the revolutionary government refurnished the property with furniture confiscated from Royal and émigré collections in 1794. This furniture then came into the de Croÿ collections as compensation when the hotel was restored to them in 1814.
The present lot is a fascinating testament to the political and cultural turbulence wrought by the French revolution and its aftermath. Following the French revolution, in an act of iconoclasm, all traces of the fallen monarchy were removed. The fleur de lys, the most potent symbol of the French monarchy for a millennium, was consequently a prime target for Revolutionaries, whether appearing on works of art, furniture or even architectural fixtures, such as the fleur de lys decoration to the columns in the chapel of the château de Versailles.
The console almost certainly came into the collection of the de Croÿ family in 1814 when Louis XVIII restored to the family their Parisian townhouse the hôtel de Croÿ d'Havré which had been confiscated during the revolution and all its furnishings sold. Used as the Dutch Embassy and the Ministry of War in the Directoire and Empire periods, the revolutionary government refurnished the property with furniture confiscated from Royal and émigré collections in 1794. This furniture then came into the de Croÿ collections as compensation when the hotel was restored to them in 1814.