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Lot Essay
Jean-Pierre Latz, active 1719-1754.
The stylized depiction of flowers framed within clearly delineated cartouches combined with the distinctive gourd-shaped seed-pods and trellis panels are all recognizable features found on the documented oeuvre of Jean-Pierre Latz, who was described after his death as 'Maitre ébéniste priviligié du Roy'. Other examples of his work displaying these characteristics include a mechanical writing table stamped by Latz and Denis Gentry (probably as a dealer) in the James A. de Rothschild Collection, Waddesdon Manor (illustrated in G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection, Waddesdon Manor, Furniture and Gilt-Bronzes, London, 1974, vol. I, no. 82, pp. 395-397), and a commode formerly in the Fayet Collection, Lyon (illustrated in H. Hawley, 'Jean-Pierre Latz, Cabinet-Maker', Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, September/October 1970, no. 56), and a bureau en pente in the Niarchos collection, illustrated in Hawley, op.cit., no. 26. Further examples include a commode stamped by Latz from the Tlyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Villa Favorita, Lugano, sold Sotheby's London, 14 June 1996, lot 41 (£210,500) and another, sold anonymously at Sotheby's London, 13 December 1996, lot 107 (£45,500). A further writing table with this type of decoration stamped by Latz and Genty was sold in these Rooms, 21 May 1997, lot 619 ($123,500).
The German-born Latz was working in Paris from around 1719. His most notable patrons included the sovereigns Frederick II, King of Prussia, and August III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. A number of pieces were also commissioned by Louise Elizabeth, Louis XV's eldest daughter, between 1748-1753. Madame Infante married the Duke of Parma, and while most of these pieces furnished the palaces of Colorno and Parma, many are now in the Quirinale in Rome (see A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, Malibu, 1989, pp. 153-162). It is unknown whether these pieces were given to her by her father, Louis XV, or if they were purchased directly by Madame Infante from the marchands-merciers.
The stylized depiction of flowers framed within clearly delineated cartouches combined with the distinctive gourd-shaped seed-pods and trellis panels are all recognizable features found on the documented oeuvre of Jean-Pierre Latz, who was described after his death as 'Maitre ébéniste priviligié du Roy'. Other examples of his work displaying these characteristics include a mechanical writing table stamped by Latz and Denis Gentry (probably as a dealer) in the James A. de Rothschild Collection, Waddesdon Manor (illustrated in G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection, Waddesdon Manor, Furniture and Gilt-Bronzes, London, 1974, vol. I, no. 82, pp. 395-397), and a commode formerly in the Fayet Collection, Lyon (illustrated in H. Hawley, 'Jean-Pierre Latz, Cabinet-Maker', Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, September/October 1970, no. 56), and a bureau en pente in the Niarchos collection, illustrated in Hawley, op.cit., no. 26. Further examples include a commode stamped by Latz from the Tlyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Villa Favorita, Lugano, sold Sotheby's London, 14 June 1996, lot 41 (£210,500) and another, sold anonymously at Sotheby's London, 13 December 1996, lot 107 (£45,500). A further writing table with this type of decoration stamped by Latz and Genty was sold in these Rooms, 21 May 1997, lot 619 ($123,500).
The German-born Latz was working in Paris from around 1719. His most notable patrons included the sovereigns Frederick II, King of Prussia, and August III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. A number of pieces were also commissioned by Louise Elizabeth, Louis XV's eldest daughter, between 1748-1753. Madame Infante married the Duke of Parma, and while most of these pieces furnished the palaces of Colorno and Parma, many are now in the Quirinale in Rome (see A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, Malibu, 1989, pp. 153-162). It is unknown whether these pieces were given to her by her father, Louis XV, or if they were purchased directly by Madame Infante from the marchands-merciers.