A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY WRITING-CABINET
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A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY WRITING-CABINET

BY CLAUDE-CHARLES SAUNIER, CIRCA 1780

Details
A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY WRITING-CABINET
BY CLAUDE-CHARLES SAUNIER, CIRCA 1780
The canted rectangular mottled grey marble top with pierced foliate gallery, above a panelled door with a floral entrelac frieze and a cut-cornered simulated panel, enclosing a fitted mahogany interior with two drawers and two shelves, above a writing drawer with a leather-lined hinged flap and three open compartments, the base section with a conforming door enclosing a plain interior with a shelf, the angles beaded by a rosette and a garlanded clasp and terminating in turned legs with sabots, stamped 'C.C. Saunier' and 'JME', with paper label '3183' and inscribed in black ink 'Wildenstein'
55½ in. (141 cm.) high; 20 in. (51 cm.) wide; 12½ in. (32 cm.) deep
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

Claude-Charles Saunier, maître in 1752.

CLAUDE-CHARLES SAUNIER

Descending from a family of ébénistes, Saunier was accepted into the community and the workshop of his father, Jean-Charles, in 1757. Located in the rue Faubourg Saint-Antoine, the premises had originally been occupied by his grandfather, Charles. Upon his succession to his father's workshop in 1765, Claude-Charles registered his letters patent and continued the business. He briefly continued to adopt the Louis XV style and then rapidly adopted the neo-classic designs of the Transitional and Louis XVI periods that he appears to have favoured, and for which he is now renowned. Saunier's success was not confined to France and his reputation reached London through his work for the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre (F.J.B. Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, London, 1960, no.145, pp.134-5, fig.145).

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