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Lot Essay
Jean-Pierre Latz, circa 1691-1754, ébéniste privilégié du Roi before 1741.
Jean-Pierre Latz (circa 1691-1754) was an artisan privilégié du Roi working in the rue du Faubourg St. Antoine and was thus never received maître. Among his patrons were Frederick II of Prussia and Augustus III of Poland. H.H. Hawley, 'Jean-Pierre Latz, Cabinetmaker', Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, September-October 1970, p.207, discussing Latz's style, emphasises the sculptural vitality of his furniture in combination with extremely realistic floral marquetry and inventive bronze mounts, most of which were made by Latz himself in direct contravention of Parisian Guild laws. Hawley suggest (p.210) that in view of the patronage of the Prussian King, it is likely that 'his work helped to form the style of rococo furniture in Potsdam and Berlin'.
Additional confirmation of this hypothesis may be found by comparing the present tables with a pair of work tables formerly in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Deane Johnson (sold Sotheby Parke Bernet, 9 December 1972, lot 103), attributed to J.F. and H.W. Spindler of Potsdam, which in particular, have pierced angle mounts clearly influenced by the type of mount found on the present examples.
A related table was sold from the Alexander Collection, Christie's New York, 30 April 1999, lot 93 ($240,000 plus premium).
The inscription KKU 909 in crayon to the underside of this bureau plat is in the same hand as that on several pieces formerly owned by the Rothschilds. These include the Riesener commode supplied to Louis XVI for Fontainebleau in 1778, which was sold from the Collection of the Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild at Christie's London, 8 July 1999, lot 201 (KKU 838); the BVRB commode from that same sale, lot 205 (KKU 888); the Dauphine's commode from Choisy-le-Roi, sold from the Riahi collection, Christie's New York, 2 November 2000, lot 20 (KKU 863); and the Carlin Sèvres porcelain-mounted secrétaire in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (KKU 859); and the lacquer bureau plat sold from the collection of the late Andr/ae Meyer, Christie's new York, 26 October 2001, lot 107. Although the Inventory that these numbers relate has not hitherto been traced, the close proximity in the numbers almost certainly suggests that all these pieces originally formed part of the celebrated Goldschmidt-Rothschild Collection at Frankfurt-am-Main. They do not however feature in the celebrated Goldshmidt-Rothschild sale conducted by Herman Ball and Paul Graupe in 1931.
Jean-Pierre Latz (circa 1691-1754) was an artisan privilégié du Roi working in the rue du Faubourg St. Antoine and was thus never received maître. Among his patrons were Frederick II of Prussia and Augustus III of Poland. H.H. Hawley, 'Jean-Pierre Latz, Cabinetmaker', Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, September-October 1970, p.207, discussing Latz's style, emphasises the sculptural vitality of his furniture in combination with extremely realistic floral marquetry and inventive bronze mounts, most of which were made by Latz himself in direct contravention of Parisian Guild laws. Hawley suggest (p.210) that in view of the patronage of the Prussian King, it is likely that 'his work helped to form the style of rococo furniture in Potsdam and Berlin'.
Additional confirmation of this hypothesis may be found by comparing the present tables with a pair of work tables formerly in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Deane Johnson (sold Sotheby Parke Bernet, 9 December 1972, lot 103), attributed to J.F. and H.W. Spindler of Potsdam, which in particular, have pierced angle mounts clearly influenced by the type of mount found on the present examples.
A related table was sold from the Alexander Collection, Christie's New York, 30 April 1999, lot 93 ($240,000 plus premium).
The inscription KKU 909 in crayon to the underside of this bureau plat is in the same hand as that on several pieces formerly owned by the Rothschilds. These include the Riesener commode supplied to Louis XVI for Fontainebleau in 1778, which was sold from the Collection of the Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild at Christie's London, 8 July 1999, lot 201 (KKU 838); the BVRB commode from that same sale, lot 205 (KKU 888); the Dauphine's commode from Choisy-le-Roi, sold from the Riahi collection, Christie's New York, 2 November 2000, lot 20 (KKU 863); and the Carlin Sèvres porcelain-mounted secrétaire in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (KKU 859); and the lacquer bureau plat sold from the collection of the late Andr/ae Meyer, Christie's new York, 26 October 2001, lot 107. Although the Inventory that these numbers relate has not hitherto been traced, the close proximity in the numbers almost certainly suggests that all these pieces originally formed part of the celebrated Goldschmidt-Rothschild Collection at Frankfurt-am-Main. They do not however feature in the celebrated Goldshmidt-Rothschild sale conducted by Herman Ball and Paul Graupe in 1931.