Lot Essay
Nicolas Quininbert Foliot, maître in 1729.
The son of a maître-menuisier, Nicolas Quininbert Foliot was elected juré of his guild in 1750. Establishing his atelier in the rue de Cléry, he worked almost continually for the Crown and was rewarded with the title of Menuisier du Garde-Meuble du Roi. He also enjoyed the patronage of the duchesse de Ponme, the Baron Bernstorff and the duc d'Orléans amongst others. It was to his brother, the sculpteur Toussaint Foliot, as well as Pierre Edmé Babel and Antoine Robillion that Foliot turned for the superlative carving of his frames.
Although the proportions and the quality of the carving might lead one to hesitate between Nicolas Quininbert Foliot and Nicolas Heurtaut (aître in 1755), the overall balance and steady carving are characteristic of the hand of Foliot. It is, however interesting to compare the closely related palm-wrapped legs and scallop-shell centred toprail that features on the suite of seat-furniture designed by Pierre-Contant d'Ivry and supplied by Nicolas Foliot in 1754 to Baron Bernstorff, the Danish Ambassador for the Palais Bernstorff in Copenhagen (now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York and discussed in B.G.B. Pallot, 'Foliot et les Sièges du Baron Berstorff', XVIIe Biennale des Antiquaires, 1994, pp.122-5).
In 1771, L'Encyclopedie, Tome IX, pl.V, fig.2 featured a 'lit à la turque à trois dossiers' of closely related form, while in 1779 Roubo, in his 'Art du Menuisier, stated that a 'lit à la turque has; 'Les dossiers sont cintrés et forment un enroulement par le haut'.
In 1755, the inventory of the country house of Baron d'Ogny à Clichy records 'un lit à la turque peint en vert', while a related giltwood 'lit à la turque' can be seen in Valade's celebrated portrait of Monsieur et Madame de Faventines, now at the chteau de Maisons-Lafitte (inv.ML606).
BARON EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD
Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934), the son of James and brother of Gustave and Alphonse, entered the Academie Française in 1905. A passionate connoisseur and philanthropist, in 1873 he bequeathed artefacts from the Milet excavation to the Louvre and subsequently, in 1895, added to this gift the Boscoreale treasures. Following his death, the Louvre again benefitted from his bequest of 6,000 drawings and 40,000 engravings and prints.
The Baron's superlative collection was displayed at the châteaux d'Armainvilliers and de Boulogne and, in Paris, at his hôtel particulière, 41, rue de Faubourg Saint Honoré.
The son of a maître-menuisier, Nicolas Quininbert Foliot was elected juré of his guild in 1750. Establishing his atelier in the rue de Cléry, he worked almost continually for the Crown and was rewarded with the title of Menuisier du Garde-Meuble du Roi. He also enjoyed the patronage of the duchesse de Ponme, the Baron Bernstorff and the duc d'Orléans amongst others. It was to his brother, the sculpteur Toussaint Foliot, as well as Pierre Edmé Babel and Antoine Robillion that Foliot turned for the superlative carving of his frames.
Although the proportions and the quality of the carving might lead one to hesitate between Nicolas Quininbert Foliot and Nicolas Heurtaut (aître in 1755), the overall balance and steady carving are characteristic of the hand of Foliot. It is, however interesting to compare the closely related palm-wrapped legs and scallop-shell centred toprail that features on the suite of seat-furniture designed by Pierre-Contant d'Ivry and supplied by Nicolas Foliot in 1754 to Baron Bernstorff, the Danish Ambassador for the Palais Bernstorff in Copenhagen (now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York and discussed in B.G.B. Pallot, 'Foliot et les Sièges du Baron Berstorff', XVIIe Biennale des Antiquaires, 1994, pp.122-5).
In 1771, L'Encyclopedie, Tome IX, pl.V, fig.2 featured a 'lit à la turque à trois dossiers' of closely related form, while in 1779 Roubo, in his 'Art du Menuisier, stated that a 'lit à la turque has; 'Les dossiers sont cintrés et forment un enroulement par le haut'.
In 1755, the inventory of the country house of Baron d'Ogny à Clichy records 'un lit à la turque peint en vert', while a related giltwood 'lit à la turque' can be seen in Valade's celebrated portrait of Monsieur et Madame de Faventines, now at the chteau de Maisons-Lafitte (inv.ML606).
BARON EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD
Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934), the son of James and brother of Gustave and Alphonse, entered the Academie Française in 1905. A passionate connoisseur and philanthropist, in 1873 he bequeathed artefacts from the Milet excavation to the Louvre and subsequently, in 1895, added to this gift the Boscoreale treasures. Following his death, the Louvre again benefitted from his bequest of 6,000 drawings and 40,000 engravings and prints.
The Baron's superlative collection was displayed at the châteaux d'Armainvilliers and de Boulogne and, in Paris, at his hôtel particulière, 41, rue de Faubourg Saint Honoré.