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A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED TULIPWOOD, ROSEWOOD AND AMARANTH MEUBLES D'APPUI

CIRCA 1775, ADAPTED IN SIZE, PROBABLY IN THE LATE 18TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED TULIPWOOD, ROSEWOOD AND AMARANTH MEUBLES D'APPUI
CIRCA 1775, ADAPTED IN SIZE, PROBABLY IN THE LATE 18TH CENTURY
Each with rectangular grey fossil marble top above a plain frieze and a pair of doors with shaped rectangular quarter-veneered panels, centered by a pierced mount of interlaced foliage, each corner mounted with a paterae, within stiff-leaf surround, enclosing a plain interior later fitted for adjustable shelves, on a plinth base, conceived to be recessed in a wall, reworked in the late 18th Century, and subsequently reduced in width and extended in depth by circa 2 in., when the sides were added, some mounts adapted and partially later mounted, one marble top with several repaired breaks, the other marble top lacking front left corner
56 in. (142 cm.) high; 48¼ in. (122.5 cm.) wide; 11 in. (28 cm.) deep (2)

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

With their bold architectural shape and restrained veneered patterns, these meubles d'appui relate to the oeuvre of the ébénistes Pierre Garnier (circa 1720-1800) and Jean-François Leleu (1729-1807) who were the first to adopt the neoclassical goût grec.
Leleu created a related pair of meubles d'appui now in the musée Nissim de Camondo (illustrated in N. Gasc (ed.), Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, 1973, no.49). With their distinctive tulipwood parquetry called en aile de papillon, plinth base and panels with canted angles decorated with rosettes, they also embody this new neo-classical style.

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