A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED BRASS-INLAID BROWN TORTOISESHELL AND BOULLE MARQUETRY CARTEL CLOCK AND BAROMETER**

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ANDRE-CHARLES BOULLE Ebéniste, Ciseleur et doreur du Roi Arguably the greatest of all cabinet-makers, and certainly the most influential, André-Charles Boulle's pre-eminence has remained undiminished since 1672, when Colbert, First Minister to Louis XIV, recommended him to the King as le plus habile de Paris dans son métier.' The son of a maître menuisier en ébène, 'Jean Bolt', Boulle was already a maître by 1666, and in 1672 was appointed Ebéniste, Ciseleur, Doreur et Sculpteur du Roi, enabling him to establish workshops in the Louvre. Boulle's uneclisped fame rests upon three principal strands: his extraordinary technical virtuosity as a craftsman (recognized by the Livre Commode des Adresses de Paris of 1691, which stated that Boulle fait des ouvrages de marqueterie d'une beauté singulaire - his innovation in both technique and design, and his brilliance as a sculptor. Indeed, it is the complete sculptural integration of Boulle's distinctive ormolu mounts - so often inspired by Classical Mythology and even derived from models by sculptors such as Michelangelo and François Girardon - within the confines of case-furniture that most succinctly defines his style. His workshop included no less than six benches for gilding, casting and chasing mounts alone, but with the introduction of the Guild system in 1715, Boulle found his combined skills as both cabinet-maker and bronzier in direct contravention of the Guild regulations. Fortunately, his privileged location within the Louvre under the patronage of the King restricted their jurisdiction considerably. As Boulle himself predated the widespread practice of stamping furniture, his oeuvre can only be discerned from remaining 18th Century documentation. Foremost amongst these are, respectively, the Déclaration Somptuaire d'André-Charles Boulle of 1700, the Acte de Délaisement of 1715, by which Boulle handed over his workshops to his sons, the 1720 claim following the disastrous fire that ravaged his premises, and the 1732 inventory taken following the death of the ébéniste. Though economically worded, these documents provide a fascinating insight into the scale of Boulle's atelier - at its height employing nearly 30 workers, with 20 cabinet-making benches alone - and also provide references to distinctive forms and mounts that have enabled scholars to formulate a conclusive stylistic body of his work. It is the reference to deux petites armoires plus basses, en forme de bibliothèque, fermées avec ses glaces saved from the fire of 1720, as well as the mention of models for the figure of Pomona in 1732, that convincingly attributes the bibliothèque basse, en suite with those in the Musée du Louvre, to Boulle (lot 38). Amongst those employed in Boulle's atelier was Jean Mariette, and his 1707 publication, 'Nouveaux Deisseins de Meubles et Ouvrages de Bronze et de Marqueterie Inventés et gravés par André-Charles Boulle', with its numerous engraved plates, further reinforces stylistic attributions drawn from the documentary evidence. Inevitably, however, these records offer almost no insight into Boulle's production prior to 1700. Despite his appointment as Ebéniste, Ciseleur, Doreur et Sculpteur du Roi, Boulle's talents were largely overlooked by the King in favor of Domenico Cucci, Pierre Gole and Aubertin Gaudron, and it was not until 1700 that he supplied his first piece of furniture to the King. He did, however, find favor with both the Queen and the Grand Dauphin, as well as receiving commissions from the garde meuble Royal from 1681. Among the most sublime creations of Boulle's oeuvre is the extraordinary table de milieu dating from circa 1680, which is inlaid on a tortoiseshell ground with a pictorial marquetry panel of a basket of flowers in the manner of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (lot 40). While its early provenance remains untraced, it is interesting to note that a 1729 Inventory of furniture belonging to the Crown describes: - 'Une table de marqueterie de fleurs de bois plusieurs couleurs, fond d'ébène, au milieu de laquelle est un panier de fleurs posé sur un bout de table, portée sur un pied de console de quatre thermes de femmes aillées'. If Boulle's talents were somewhat neglected by Louis XIV, they were amply appreciated by financiers, ministers, foreign plenipotentiaries and the rulers of Europe - including Pierre Crozat, dit 'le Riche', his nephew Louis-Antoine Crozat, Baron de Thiers, Cardinal Rohan, Philipe V of Spain, the duc de Bourbon and the Regent, duc d'Orléans. Interestingly, Boulle was the first to belong to the small and select group of cabinet-makers whose reputations were such that their names appeared in 18th Century sale catalogue descriptions - an honor subsequently bestowed upon Cressent, Bernard II van Risen Burgh, Riesener, Carlin and Roentgen alone, and it was just such a reference in Monsieur Crozat de Thiers' sale in Paris in 1770 that was used to describe the console from the collection (lot 32). Listed as being par Boulle, this console was sold consecutively after its pendant pair, which is now in the Jones Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London . During the lifetime of the ébéniste and certainly shortly after his death in 1732, influential connoisseurs such as Jean de Julienne (1686-1766), Blondel de Gagny and his nephew Blondel d'Azincourt (1719-1774) were collecting both contemporary furniture by Boulle as well as masterpieces from his earlier career. It was Blondel d'Azincourt's sale on 18 April 1770 that included the exceptional floral marquetry table de milieu in (lot 40), but its subsequent fate - so long forgotten - has been rediscovered to Wanstead House. One of the greatest of all Palladian Houses, Wanstead's contents were tragically dispersed in 1822 and the house was subsequently demolished. At the height of the Rococo in the late 1740's, Boulle's furniture - and in particular the distinctive marquetry technique synonymous with his name - came to be seen as old-fashioned. However, from the late 1750's sales of the celebrated collections formed by Lalive de Jully (1758), Blondel de Gagny (1776), Jean de Julienne (1767), and Randon de Boisset (1777) resulted in a historical re-evaluation of Boulle's oeuvre, and this ultimately led to a renewed enthusiasm for Boulle furniture. As the sale catalogue of his collection reveals, Randon de Boisset had a particular predilection for Boulle's torcheres, and lot 796 from his sale corresponds directly with those in the collection (lot 37). The opportunity presented by this renewed enthusiasm for Boulle furniture was brilliantly exploited during the Louis XVI period by the marchand Julliot, who not only assembled sales devoted almost exclusively to Boulle furniture, but also engaged ébénistes such as Montigny, Delorme and Levasseur to adapt earlier furniture to more modern Louis XVI forms, as well as to create Louis XVI furniture in the 'Boulle' taste. With the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, demand inevitably wained almost completely, and it was left to the English cognoscenti to adopt the collecting mantel of the ancien regime. Of the latter, arguably the most influential and undoubtedly the most eccentric was William Beckford of Fonthill, and it was he who owned the second pair of Boulle torcheres (lot 34). During the 19th Century, often with the assistance of the English marchand-mercier Edward Holmes Baldock, the vast majority of Boulle furniture made its way into English collections, and this is true of all of the examples illustrated here whose 19th Century provenance has been traced - ranging from Alton Towers to Wrotham Park, the Dashwoods to the Earls Beauchamp. It was Baldock who supplied the table en bureau of circa 1720 (lot 39) to George Byng (d.1847) at Wrotham, and this rare example, one of only three known which, like its companion in the Residenz, Munich, retains its leather top rather than being converted to form a side table, represents an innovative variant on the 'bureau plat', an invention with which Boulle himself is largely credited. Perhaps the rarest form of all, however, is the table de milieu by Boulle. Only three tables with 'bustes de femmes' are known; of these, two are offered in this Collection and the last, originally forming the contre-partie pair to lot 35, but now lacking its marquetry top, is in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. An obsessive collector of drawings, engravings and medals, Boulle was plagued throughout his life by financial difficulties, but in spite of these self-imposed troubles, as well as the fire of 1720, his creative brilliance remained undiminished. This exceptional group of furniture by Boulle, worthy of the greatest of 18th Century amateurs, is a testimony to his genius.

A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED BRASS-INLAID BROWN TORTOISESHELL AND BOULLE MARQUETRY CARTEL CLOCK AND BAROMETER**

IN THE MANNER OF ANDRÉ-CHARLES BOULLE

Details

A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED BRASS-INLAID BROWN TORTOISESHELL AND BOULLE MARQUETRY CARTEL CLOCK AND BAROMETER**
In the manner of André-Charles Boulle
The glazed circular dial cast with scientific instruments, Apollo's lyre, Cupid's quiver and Hymen's torch and set with enamel cabochons with Roman numerals with further Arabic chapters, surmounted by a glazed lunette-shaped aperture with gilt-starred blue painted dial inscribed Pluvieux, Changeant and Beau-Temps framed by laurel foliage and a shell, the obelisk-shaped panelled body mounted with a ribbon-tied oval classical portrait medallion surmounted by a later ball finial cast with fleur-de-lys and headed by a crown above foliate arabesque marquetry centered by entwined C's, the splayed and tapering base inlaid with ribbon-tied laurel and palm-sprays, above a gadrooned molded edge and stepped pedestal, on a flowered-guilloche tapering bracket wrapped with acanthus, above a foliate boss, the sides with brass-framed tortoiseshell panels, the later movement signed GH LES MI/43250 AND A.D. MOUGIN DEUX MEDAILLES, the bell inscribed 5.38.JB and with a crescent above a P and further stamped G3 and mounted with acanthus

43in. (109cm.) high, 10in. (25.5cm.) wide

Provenance

The late Frank Green, Esq., who donated The Treasurer's House to the City of York.
Colonel S.L. Green, sold Christie's London, 1 July 1982, lot 34 (£28,080; $49,196).

Literature

Christie's Review of the Season, 1982, p. 201
J.N. Ronfort, 'André-Charles Boulle: die Bronzearbeiten und seine Werkstatt im Louvre', Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol.II, pp.509.

Special notice

This lot has no reserve. Notice Regarding the Sale of Ivory and Tortoiseshell Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing ivory or tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

Despite any conclusive documentary evidence, six models of barometer can confidently be attributed to André-Charles Boulle on the basis of comparison with his known clock models (J.N. Ronfort, op. cit.). The design of this model, known as a baromètre à pyramide is related to Jean Bérain's published designs, such as that for a Pendule aux Harpies (op.cit., vol.I, fig. 1.15.1). The example in the Musée des Techniques was seized during the Revolution from M. Lenoir du Breuil and another is in the Jones Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (no. 1122-1882; op. cit., Vol.I, fig. 1.5.2.). Interestingly, a number of features on the Jones barometer, including the neo-classical character of the oval portrait medallion, the signature of a Louis XVI physicien Ciceri on the dial and the use of the constructional technique of attaching the mounts from behind, thereby concealing the screws have all prompted the suggestion that it may well date from the Louis XVI period, rather than the Louis XIV period.

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