ATTRIBUTED TO JOSEPH GENGENBACH, CALLED CANABAS

Details

A LOUIS XVI TULIPWOOD FOUR LEAF FIRE SCREEN
Attributed to Joseph Gengenbach, called Canabas
Each with later sliding screen covered in crimson silk decorated with scrolling foliage, fruit and classical vases in ivory and light green, within a rectangular frame, above pierced trelliswork, the hinge replaced, possibly originally plain mahogany and therefore now reveneered
35¾ in. (91 cm.) high; each leaf 17 in. (43 wide); 1½ in. (3 cm.) deep

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, Monaco, 20 June 1992, lot 657.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This screen is conceived in the sober, unadorned taste of the late 18th Century known as the goût anglais, using simple functional forms undisturbed by gilt mounts and often based directly on English prototypes. The lower part of this example is also decorated with pierced Chinese fretwork, which first appeared in English furniture. Screens of this type were designed as a protection against both heat and cold.
Joseph Gengenbach, known as Canabas (maître in 1766), was one of the foremost makers of such useful, portable pieces of furniture. An almost identical screen is illustrated in G. Janneau and P. Devinoy, Le Meuble Léger en France, Paris, 1952, pl. 176, formerly in the collection Serge Roche et Rotel.

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