拍品专文
Jean-François Oeben, maître in 1761
This table à liseuse relates to the group of commodes 'à la Grecque' supplied by Oeben to madame de Pompadour for the châteaux de Versailles, Ménars and D'Auvilliers, from his appointment as ébéniste mécanicien du Roi in 1761, until the marquise's death in 1764. In the inventory of the château de Ménars drawn up in 1764, seventeen commodes 'à la Grecque', in bois satiné or mahogany, were valued at between 200l and 400l. Their restrained linear form and the use of mahogany reflected an extremely advanced Neo-classical taste, which may well have been prompted by the marquise herself. For, in the inventory following Oeben's death, there is an entry for
'710 livres weight of mahogany in 4 planks and one sheet of the same wood 9 pieds long ... The remains of the mahogany bought by Oeben on the orders and to the account of The Marquise de Pompadour, and to whom it belonged'
However, there exist further commodes 'à la Greque' stamped by his brother Simon Oeben (maître in 1769), suggesting that they were not made exclusively for madame de Pompadour (A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, London, 1989, p.260)
This table à liseuse relates to the group of commodes 'à la Grecque' supplied by Oeben to madame de Pompadour for the châteaux de Versailles, Ménars and D'Auvilliers, from his appointment as ébéniste mécanicien du Roi in 1761, until the marquise's death in 1764. In the inventory of the château de Ménars drawn up in 1764, seventeen commodes 'à la Grecque', in bois satiné or mahogany, were valued at between 200l and 400l. Their restrained linear form and the use of mahogany reflected an extremely advanced Neo-classical taste, which may well have been prompted by the marquise herself. For, in the inventory following Oeben's death, there is an entry for
'710 livres weight of mahogany in 4 planks and one sheet of the same wood 9 pieds long ... The remains of the mahogany bought by Oeben on the orders and to the account of The Marquise de Pompadour, and to whom it belonged'
However, there exist further commodes 'à la Greque' stamped by his brother Simon Oeben (maître in 1769), suggesting that they were not made exclusively for madame de Pompadour (A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, London, 1989, p.260)