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Lot Essay
The use of Chinese and Japanese lacquer in French furniture was prevalent starting in the 18th century, when the taste for exotic chinoiseries was encouraged by the marchands-merciers, the purveyors of luxury goods in Paris who had a monopoly on the import of precious art from the East such as lacquer and porcelain. Lacquer furniture was prized not only for its inherent luxury, but also for its rarity and the technical skills the panels required by the ébénistes to shape the pieces – often re-used from screens or coffers – to harmoniously fit the forms of the furniture (C. Payne, Paris Furniture: The Luxury Market of the 19th Century, 2018, p. 86). During the third quarter of the 19th century, a renewed fascination in lacquer and other Eastern objets d'art emerged with the advent of the 'japonisme' movement, due in part to the globalization of the world markets and the opening of trade with Japan. No longer were panels worked into existing forms, but instead, lacquer decorations could be commissioned specifically for pieces (op. cit. p. 88). Some cabinet makers, like François Linke, reputedly sent carcasses of their works to Japan by way of the trans-Siberian railway to be adorned in sumptuous and sculptural lacquer, such as the panels on the present pair (op. cit. p. 152).
The design of the present pair of commodes ‘à l'anglaise’, or ‘à encoignures’, relates closely to the model by Martin Carlin, maître 1766, supplied between 1775 and 1780 to the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré home of the Marquise de Brunoy, née Françoise-Emilie de Pérusse des Cars, daughter-in-law of the financier Pâris de Montmartel. The commode and its matching pair of small lacquer consoles became separated when they were confiscated from the Marquise at the time of the Revolution. The latter are now in the Petit Trianon, whilst the commode was sent to the Palais de Saint-Cloud in 1802 to furnish the grand salon of the Premier Consul's apartment overlooking the Orangerie, remaining in the palace until 1870 when it was moved to the Louvre. Late 19th century ébénistes were inspired by Carlin’s model and modified copies by makers such as Henry Dasson, Alfred Beurdeley and Gervais Durand are known. In particular, there are other examples by Dasson with subtle alterations to Carlin’s model, such as this pair with fitted with a pair 19th century lacquer panels, rather than three associated Carlin's original. A nearly identical pair of commodes, by Henry Dasson, is illustrated in C. Payne, Paris Furniture: The Luxury Market of the 19th Century, 2018, p. 204).
In L'ameublement d'art français: 1850-1900, Mestdagh cites the 1894 sale of Dasson & Cie.'s master models for furniture mounts, at which Beurdeley acquired various mounts, including 'an important cabinet Louis XVI, with lateral shelves, Louvre Museum'. In referring to this acquisition, Payne goes further to speculate that the patterns were almost certainly those associated with Carlin's design (op. cit. p. 204), thus continuing the 19th century tradition of passing enduring and iconic designs of the ancien régime through generations of cabinetmakers.
The design of the present pair of commodes ‘à l'anglaise’, or ‘à encoignures’, relates closely to the model by Martin Carlin, maître 1766, supplied between 1775 and 1780 to the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré home of the Marquise de Brunoy, née Françoise-Emilie de Pérusse des Cars, daughter-in-law of the financier Pâris de Montmartel. The commode and its matching pair of small lacquer consoles became separated when they were confiscated from the Marquise at the time of the Revolution. The latter are now in the Petit Trianon, whilst the commode was sent to the Palais de Saint-Cloud in 1802 to furnish the grand salon of the Premier Consul's apartment overlooking the Orangerie, remaining in the palace until 1870 when it was moved to the Louvre. Late 19th century ébénistes were inspired by Carlin’s model and modified copies by makers such as Henry Dasson, Alfred Beurdeley and Gervais Durand are known. In particular, there are other examples by Dasson with subtle alterations to Carlin’s model, such as this pair with fitted with a pair 19th century lacquer panels, rather than three associated Carlin's original. A nearly identical pair of commodes, by Henry Dasson, is illustrated in C. Payne, Paris Furniture: The Luxury Market of the 19th Century, 2018, p. 204).
In L'ameublement d'art français: 1850-1900, Mestdagh cites the 1894 sale of Dasson & Cie.'s master models for furniture mounts, at which Beurdeley acquired various mounts, including 'an important cabinet Louis XVI, with lateral shelves, Louvre Museum'. In referring to this acquisition, Payne goes further to speculate that the patterns were almost certainly those associated with Carlin's design (op. cit. p. 204), thus continuing the 19th century tradition of passing enduring and iconic designs of the ancien régime through generations of cabinetmakers.