A PAIR OF LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED JAPANESE LACQUER ENCOIGNURES

BY JEAN DEFORGE

Details

A PAIR OF LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED JAPANESE LACQUER ENCOIGNURES
By Jean Deforge
Each of arc en arbalette form, the moulded mottled jasper tops above a pair of arc en arbelette waved doors decorated sans traverse with a hilly landscape enriched with temples, bridges and trees, horses, mythical beasts and birds, within a scrolled acanthus ormolu frame with foliate-trailed rockwork cartouches and C-scrolls, enclosing a plain interior with two shelves, the reverse of the door inlaid with a lozenge parquetry panel centred by a Maltese cross, the waved apron applied with a rockwork C-scroll cabochon clasp, on cabriole legs with acanthus C-scroll cabochon sabots, the Japanese lacquer 17th Century, each stamped 'DF' twice
28¾ in. (73 cm.) wide; 33½ in. (85 cm.) high; 21 in. (53.5 cm.) deep (2)

Lot Essay

Jean Deforge became maître sometime before 1730, and flourished between 1730 and 1757. The brother-in-law of the reknowned inventor of Vernis Martin, Deforge worked exclusively for the marchands-merciers. The Comte de Salverte was the first to identify the 'DF' stamp and it was then further explained by Colin Demetrescu in L'Estampille, L'Objet d'Art, October 1992, p. 64-81. Jean Deforge specialized in lacquer commodes and it is more than likely that these encoignures would have belonged en-suite with a commode, which has not yet been identified.

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