.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Originally designed as sculpture pedestals and now with marble tops to serve as low tables, this pair of stands are inscribed Le Nil and Le Tiber, almost certainly references to the subjects of the sculptures they previously supported.
BOULLE MARQUETRY AND THE LEVASSEUR DYNASTY
Etienne Levasseur (1721-1798) was one of the foremost cabinet-makers of his time. He learned his craft with the sons of André -Charles Boulle, probably from A-C. Boulle the younger (1685-1745) or Charles-Joseph Boulle (d. 1754). By 1765, he was established as a privileged craftsman in the faubourg Saint-Antoine, at a shop known as au Cadran bleu. He received his maîtrise on 2 April 1767. Among his patrons were the king's aunts, Mesdames Adelade and Victoire at Bellevue, and rich collectors such as the fermier general, Mulot de Pressigny. In 1782, he was made head of his guild. Levasseur particularly specialized in the reproduction and repair of Boulle furniture and his stamp appears on many Louis XIV pieces, including many in English country house collections.
Levasseur père does not appear to have continued working after the Revolution and he died in the rue de Faubourg-Saint-Antoine on 8 December 1798. His son and grandson, however, followed in his footsteps, continuing both the use of his stamp and his specialization in Boulle marquetry furniture well into the 1820s. Pierre-Etienne was not made a maître, probably because of the Revolution. He married a daughter of Roger van der Cruse, and moved to 15 rue Martel, later to 182 Faubourg Saint-Martin where he is recorded in 1807, and finally to 114 Faubourg Saint-Antoine, where his son succeeded him in 1823. The latter, known as Levasseur the Younger, placed an advertisement in the Bazar Parisien in 1822 in which he described himself as perhaps the only ébéniste making and repairing Boulle furniture in Paris, 'furniture seldom seen but avidly sought by collectors and dealers' (A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, Paris, 1989, p.316).
BOULLE MARQUETRY AND THE LEVASSEUR DYNASTY
Etienne Levasseur (1721-1798) was one of the foremost cabinet-makers of his time. He learned his craft with the sons of André -Charles Boulle, probably from A-C. Boulle the younger (1685-1745) or Charles-Joseph Boulle (d. 1754). By 1765, he was established as a privileged craftsman in the faubourg Saint-Antoine, at a shop known as au Cadran bleu. He received his maîtrise on 2 April 1767. Among his patrons were the king's aunts, Mesdames Adelade and Victoire at Bellevue, and rich collectors such as the fermier general, Mulot de Pressigny. In 1782, he was made head of his guild. Levasseur particularly specialized in the reproduction and repair of Boulle furniture and his stamp appears on many Louis XIV pieces, including many in English country house collections.
Levasseur père does not appear to have continued working after the Revolution and he died in the rue de Faubourg-Saint-Antoine on 8 December 1798. His son and grandson, however, followed in his footsteps, continuing both the use of his stamp and his specialization in Boulle marquetry furniture well into the 1820s. Pierre-Etienne was not made a maître, probably because of the Revolution. He married a daughter of Roger van der Cruse, and moved to 15 rue Martel, later to 182 Faubourg Saint-Martin where he is recorded in 1807, and finally to 114 Faubourg Saint-Antoine, where his son succeeded him in 1823. The latter, known as Levasseur the Younger, placed an advertisement in the Bazar Parisien in 1822 in which he described himself as perhaps the only ébéniste making and repairing Boulle furniture in Paris, 'furniture seldom seen but avidly sought by collectors and dealers' (A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, Paris, 1989, p.316).