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Lot Essay
A rare survivor, this exceptional lacquer armoire is one of the earliest examples of French furniture incorporating large scale lacquer panels from either China or Japan. The East was a source of constant fascination and its porcelain, bronzes and lacquerwork were highly prized by European monarchs and their Court. Demand in the West for lacquer wares was met by artisans in centers such as Canton who specialized in creating wares specifically for export to the West, often with explicit instructions about the forms required suggested to them by the trading companies such as the British East Indies Company (see R. Symonds, "Furniture from the Indies", The Connoisseur, July 1934, p. 40).
Initially the primary source for lacquer was Japan but by the end of the seventeenth century, it had become increasingly expensive and trade turned increasingly to China. In France, shipments of Chinese lacquer arrived in Nantes as early as 1700 and the Compagnie des Indes established a permanent base in Canton to facilitate trade, which was vigorously supported by the Regent after 1715 when he came to power. Sales were conducted in Nantes upon each ship's return, and in 1721 and 1722 these sales contained large quantities of lacquer. A clear link to the Paris marchands-merciers is recorded in these sales as the marchand-mercier Juilliot was a buyer of large quantities of both lacquer and porcelain (T.Wolvesperges, Le Meuble Français En Laque Au XVIII Siecle, Paris, 1999, pp.136-7.).
The sumptuous lacquer on this armoire, which also incorporates embellishments by Parisian vernisseurs, is particularly rare and with its distinctive raised technique does not conform to the more commonly seen incised coromandel lacquer pieces seen in this period. Intriguingly, a lacquer screen in the Brugier Collection, described as Chinese and dated by Wolvesperges to the Qianlong period (1736-1796) but conceivably earlier, is very closely related to the panels incorporated in the armoire, with the same distinct gold ground, hunters on horseback, mountainous landscapes and the distinctive floral borders incorporated in the base and cornice of the armoire offered here (Wolvesperges, op.cit. pp 51 fig 39.). Further closely related Chinese lacquer panels in the Victoria and Albert Museum (dated to the 17th century) and in the collection of the Duke of Roxburghe (dated to circa 1720) are illustrated in M. Jourdain and R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Export Art, London, 1950, figs. 12 and 29.
Furniture from the Louis XV period also features Chinese lacquer panels of strikingly similar nature to the lacquer on this armoire and include a Louis XV commode and a pair of encoignures both by Jean Demoulin (Wolvesperges, op.cit., p.50, figs. 37-8). Another related Règence armoire incorporating Chinese lacquer panels, interestingly signed by the marchand mercier Louis Guignard and dated 1723, was sold from the Estate of Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard at Christie's, New York, 18 March 2005, lot 305 ($150,000 exc. premium).
Initially the primary source for lacquer was Japan but by the end of the seventeenth century, it had become increasingly expensive and trade turned increasingly to China. In France, shipments of Chinese lacquer arrived in Nantes as early as 1700 and the Compagnie des Indes established a permanent base in Canton to facilitate trade, which was vigorously supported by the Regent after 1715 when he came to power. Sales were conducted in Nantes upon each ship's return, and in 1721 and 1722 these sales contained large quantities of lacquer. A clear link to the Paris marchands-merciers is recorded in these sales as the marchand-mercier Juilliot was a buyer of large quantities of both lacquer and porcelain (T.Wolvesperges, Le Meuble Français En Laque Au XVIII Siecle, Paris, 1999, pp.136-7.).
The sumptuous lacquer on this armoire, which also incorporates embellishments by Parisian vernisseurs, is particularly rare and with its distinctive raised technique does not conform to the more commonly seen incised coromandel lacquer pieces seen in this period. Intriguingly, a lacquer screen in the Brugier Collection, described as Chinese and dated by Wolvesperges to the Qianlong period (1736-1796) but conceivably earlier, is very closely related to the panels incorporated in the armoire, with the same distinct gold ground, hunters on horseback, mountainous landscapes and the distinctive floral borders incorporated in the base and cornice of the armoire offered here (Wolvesperges, op.cit. pp 51 fig 39.). Further closely related Chinese lacquer panels in the Victoria and Albert Museum (dated to the 17th century) and in the collection of the Duke of Roxburghe (dated to circa 1720) are illustrated in M. Jourdain and R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Export Art, London, 1950, figs. 12 and 29.
Furniture from the Louis XV period also features Chinese lacquer panels of strikingly similar nature to the lacquer on this armoire and include a Louis XV commode and a pair of encoignures both by Jean Demoulin (Wolvesperges, op.cit., p.50, figs. 37-8). Another related Règence armoire incorporating Chinese lacquer panels, interestingly signed by the marchand mercier Louis Guignard and dated 1723, was sold from the Estate of Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard at Christie's, New York, 18 March 2005, lot 305 ($150,000 exc. premium).