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Lot Essay
Jacques Dubois (1694-1763) worked as an ouvrier privilegié in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine before achieving his maîtrise. Elected a juré of the guild in 1752, he was one of the most prolific cabinet-makers in the Louis XV period.
This exquisite lacquer bureau illustrates the best of Dubois' oeuvre that is characterised by graceful lines and finely cast rococo mounts. The inventory taken after his death revealed an extensive workshop and included a small group of costly pieces in Chinese or Japanese lacquer, listing 'un bureau en lac de Chine' and 'un petite secrétaire en lac de japon' each valued at '200 L'. It further listed a large stock of bronze mounts, indicating the possibility that Dubois retained exclusive use of his own model of mounts.
Among the recorded examples of lacquer bureaux by Dubois, those in Japanese lacquer, the most prized and expensive form of lacquer used in this way, are rare. A related bureau attributed to Dubois, formerly in the collection of the Marquis de Breteuil at château de Breuil, was sold from the Akram Ojjeh collection, Christie's, Monaco, 11/12 December 1999, lot 51.
This exquisite lacquer bureau illustrates the best of Dubois' oeuvre that is characterised by graceful lines and finely cast rococo mounts. The inventory taken after his death revealed an extensive workshop and included a small group of costly pieces in Chinese or Japanese lacquer, listing 'un bureau en lac de Chine' and 'un petite secrétaire en lac de japon' each valued at '200 L'. It further listed a large stock of bronze mounts, indicating the possibility that Dubois retained exclusive use of his own model of mounts.
Among the recorded examples of lacquer bureaux by Dubois, those in Japanese lacquer, the most prized and expensive form of lacquer used in this way, are rare. A related bureau attributed to Dubois, formerly in the collection of the Marquis de Breteuil at château de Breuil, was sold from the Akram Ojjeh collection, Christie's, Monaco, 11/12 December 1999, lot 51.