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Lot Essay
This exuberantly carved console reflects the tradition of the 'pittoresque' style popularized in the 1730s and 1740s by influential ornemanistes such as Nicolas Pineau (d. 1754) and Juste-Aurle Meissonnier (d. 1750), while fully expressing the emergence of the rocaille through its ruffled shells, dynamic curves, vigorous carving and asymmetric design.
With its fully modeled stretcher, this console is reminiscent of examples carved with images of the hunt derived from Jean-Baptiste Oudry. A closely related console with similar foliate-wrapped legs, shell-centered apron and scrolled feet with a stretcher depicting Oudry's The Boar Hunt was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 16 December 1999, lot 65, while a pair of magnificent consoles with hunting scenes also inspired by Oudry was sold anonymously, Christie's New York, 23 October 1998, lot 86. On the present lot, the depiction of an eagle and a snake is more likely a symbolic reference to the conflict of Good and Evil.
With its fully modeled stretcher, this console is reminiscent of examples carved with images of the hunt derived from Jean-Baptiste Oudry. A closely related console with similar foliate-wrapped legs, shell-centered apron and scrolled feet with a stretcher depicting Oudry's The Boar Hunt was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 16 December 1999, lot 65, while a pair of magnificent consoles with hunting scenes also inspired by Oudry was sold anonymously, Christie's New York, 23 October 1998, lot 86. On the present lot, the depiction of an eagle and a snake is more likely a symbolic reference to the conflict of Good and Evil.