.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This commode can be attributed to the ébéniste Etienne Doirat (circa 1675-1732) on the basis of stylistic similarities with other commodes by this maker but chiefly on the basis of the ormolu mounts. It is known that Doirat retained exclusive use of his models for gilt- bronze mounts. The inventory following his death in 1732 details:
100 livres pesant de modèles de plomb imparfaits servant aux garnitures taut pour commodes que pour autres ouvrages.
Doirat is rare among Régence cabinetmakers for having stamped a good number of pieces that he produced. This allows a firm basis on which, allied with the exclusivity of his ormolu mounts, to attributions. The distinctive female head mounts also appear on a commode stamped by Doirat in the Musée du Petit Palais, Paris, a commode from the Bouvier Collection in the Musée Carnavalet, Paris and a bureau plat from the Collection of Comte de La Riboisière, now in the Huntington Collection, San Marino (J-D Augarde, 'Etienne Doirat Menuisier en Ebène', The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, Vol. 13, 1985 p. 48, no. 26, fig 11; pp. 49-50, no. 33, fig. 15; and pp. 50-51, no. 37, fig. 18, respectively). Numerous pieces also show these lion paw feet.
ETIENNE DOIRAT
Etienne Doirat (circa 1675-1732) is the only important ébéniste of the Régence period who stamped his work, albeit intermettantly, allowing his output to be well defined and greatly facilitating attributions.
He is recorded in the Grand-Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine at the time of his marriage in 1704. He moved to the rue Saint-Marguerite in 1711 and back to the Grand-Rue in 1720 under the sign of la croix rouge. In 1726 he set up his workshop in the Cour de la Contrescarpe-des- Fossées-de-la-Bastille and in 1731 he leased a store in the rue Saint-Honoré, a fashionable address for luxury retailers, probably to market his furniture better. The inventory following his death in 1732 is published by J-D Augarde, 'E. Doirat, Menuisier en ébène,' The J. Paul Getty Museum Jornal, Vol. XIII, 1985, pp. 33-52. The inventory reveals the scope of his production, including not only commodes but also bureaux plats, bookcases, night-tables and encoignures.
100 livres pesant de modèles de plomb imparfaits servant aux garnitures taut pour commodes que pour autres ouvrages.
Doirat is rare among Régence cabinetmakers for having stamped a good number of pieces that he produced. This allows a firm basis on which, allied with the exclusivity of his ormolu mounts, to attributions. The distinctive female head mounts also appear on a commode stamped by Doirat in the Musée du Petit Palais, Paris, a commode from the Bouvier Collection in the Musée Carnavalet, Paris and a bureau plat from the Collection of Comte de La Riboisière, now in the Huntington Collection, San Marino (J-D Augarde, 'Etienne Doirat Menuisier en Ebène', The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, Vol. 13, 1985 p. 48, no. 26, fig 11; pp. 49-50, no. 33, fig. 15; and pp. 50-51, no. 37, fig. 18, respectively). Numerous pieces also show these lion paw feet.
ETIENNE DOIRAT
Etienne Doirat (circa 1675-1732) is the only important ébéniste of the Régence period who stamped his work, albeit intermettantly, allowing his output to be well defined and greatly facilitating attributions.
He is recorded in the Grand-Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine at the time of his marriage in 1704. He moved to the rue Saint-Marguerite in 1711 and back to the Grand-Rue in 1720 under the sign of la croix rouge. In 1726 he set up his workshop in the Cour de la Contrescarpe-des- Fossées-de-la-Bastille and in 1731 he leased a store in the rue Saint-Honoré, a fashionable address for luxury retailers, probably to market his furniture better. The inventory following his death in 1732 is published by J-D Augarde, 'E. Doirat, Menuisier en ébène,' The J. Paul Getty Museum Jornal, Vol. XIII, 1985, pp. 33-52. The inventory reveals the scope of his production, including not only commodes but also bureaux plats, bookcases, night-tables and encoignures.