Lot Essay
Bernard Molitor (1755-1833), maître in 1787
This commode is a very interesting addition to the oeuvre of Bernard Molitor. It bears the Guild monogram JME in addition to his stamp and can therefore be dated with certainty between October 1788, the date when Molitor was accepted as a maître and 1791 when the Guild was abolished.
Ulrich Leben discusses the form and evolution of Molitor's production of commodes in Molitor, London, 1992, pp.138-143 and pp.178-186. Commodes stamped by Molitor are rare largely for the reasons given above and it is therefore difficult to make attributions in their absence. This commode, a model not recorded in his catalogue raisonné (op.cit., pp.178-186), will therefore allow the attribution to Molitor of a series of similar commodes. The most distinctive aspects of this commode are the brass-inlaid lozenge and guilloché patterns on the frieze and base respectively, and the spreading detached columns with square bases on the angles. These detached columns are evidence of a revival of interest in the Louis XIV style on the eve of the Revolution. The restrained decoration with large unencumbered veneered surfaces of high quality is also characteristic of his work at this period.
Unfortunately, few bills survive for Molitor's production before the Revolution and it is therefore difficult to discover the provenance of much of the furniture made by him. It is likely that this commode, conceived in an advanced style, would have been commissioned by an adventurous patron. Molitor's business was extremely successful and his clients included many of those in Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette's entourage, such as the Prince de Vaudemont, the duc de Fitz-James, the Polignac family and the marquis de la Suze. His clientèle also included those who moved in the fashionable Parisian circles and members of the National Assembly, such as the marquis de La Fayette and the duc de Mirepoix, both very active in the first years after the Revolution.
This commode is a very interesting addition to the oeuvre of Bernard Molitor. It bears the Guild monogram JME in addition to his stamp and can therefore be dated with certainty between October 1788, the date when Molitor was accepted as a maître and 1791 when the Guild was abolished.
Ulrich Leben discusses the form and evolution of Molitor's production of commodes in Molitor, London, 1992, pp.138-143 and pp.178-186. Commodes stamped by Molitor are rare largely for the reasons given above and it is therefore difficult to make attributions in their absence. This commode, a model not recorded in his catalogue raisonné (op.cit., pp.178-186), will therefore allow the attribution to Molitor of a series of similar commodes. The most distinctive aspects of this commode are the brass-inlaid lozenge and guilloché patterns on the frieze and base respectively, and the spreading detached columns with square bases on the angles. These detached columns are evidence of a revival of interest in the Louis XIV style on the eve of the Revolution. The restrained decoration with large unencumbered veneered surfaces of high quality is also characteristic of his work at this period.
Unfortunately, few bills survive for Molitor's production before the Revolution and it is therefore difficult to discover the provenance of much of the furniture made by him. It is likely that this commode, conceived in an advanced style, would have been commissioned by an adventurous patron. Molitor's business was extremely successful and his clients included many of those in Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette's entourage, such as the Prince de Vaudemont, the duc de Fitz-James, the Polignac family and the marquis de la Suze. His clientèle also included those who moved in the fashionable Parisian circles and members of the National Assembly, such as the marquis de La Fayette and the duc de Mirepoix, both very active in the first years after the Revolution.