AFTER A MODEL BY ETIENNE LEVASSEUR, CIRCA 1880

The design for the present vitrine derives from a bibliothèque executed circa 1775 by the celebrated ébéniste, Etienne Levasseur (maître 1767). A reinterpretation of a Boulle design (the drawing for which was formerly in the collection of the Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten, Berlin), Levasseur's work included Boulle marquetry panels where here there is glass. Originally inventoried at Carlton House in 1818, the bibliothèque was purchased for the 4th Marquess of Hertford at the sale of the Marquess of Londonderry held by Christie's (16 April 1869, lot 46) and now forms part of the Wallace Collection.