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Lot Essay
This elegant secrétaire-a-abattant illustrates not only the extraordinary skills of two of the most celebrated master craftsmen of the late 18th century - ébéniste du roi Jean-Henri Riesener and bronzier Pierre Gouthière - but also boasts a superb provenance, having been in the collection of Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild at Mentmore and later that of the Paris couturier Karl Lagerfeld.
Jean-Henri Riesener was, together with Boulle and Cressent, one of the very few ébénistes to be mentioned in 18th century auction catalogues and this secrétaire, while not stamped, is unmistakably Riesener's work and characteristic for his oeuvre. Celebrated for his use of marquetry of the highest quality as much as for his more restrained pieces with perfectly-selected mahogany decorated with finely-chased jewel-like ormolu mounts, this secretaire exemplifies his production of the 1780s and is stylistically related to a commode in the Wallace Collection. The latter is similarly decorated in exquisitely-figured mahogany veneers, stamped by Riesener and bears the same distinctive ormolu floral trails to the angles, which further allows us to identify the superb mounts as the work of Gouthière. This secrétaire is further related to a group of pieces commissioned in 1786 by Marie-Antoinette for the Salon des Nobles at Versailles, which included three commodes and two encoignures of related character (C. Frégnac et. al., Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle français, Paris, 1963, pp. 194-195). Further related examples to have come to auction include a secrétaire-a-abattant sold at Christie's, Monaco, 21 June 1998, lot 577 (FF2,982,500), one sold at Christie's, New York, 23 May 1995, lot 194 ($354,500) and a third example, stamped four times J.H.RIESENER, sold at Christie's, New York, 21 May 1997, lot 625.
A COLLABORATION BETWEEN RIESENER AND GOUTHIERE?
The exceptionally chased Apollo mask to the frieze of the present example is a recurrent feature on later stamped furniture by Riesener. With tresses tied together both above and below the head, two laurel branches crossing beneath the chin, and rays of light streaming from the deity's countenance, the mount ranks amongst the finest gilt bronzes of the period and also features on a pair of commodes, one of which was supplied by Riesener in 1775 for King Louis XVI's bedchamber at Versailles. Now in the Musée Condé, château du Chantilly (no. OA 245), this example may be the first appearance of this mount (Pierre Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, Vol. I, Paris, 1990, pp. 21-24). Another example appears on a Jewel Cabinet made for Marie-Joséphine-Louise of Savoy, Comtesse de Provence, circa 1787. It stood in the apartment of the Comtesse and her husband, the Comte and future Louis XVIII, in the Palais du Petit-Luxembourg and is today in the Royal Collection (Ed. J. Roberts, Royal Treasures: A Golden Jubilee Celebration, London, 2002, no. 105, p.180-182). The motif also appears on a mahogany commode of 1785-90 executed by Riesener, now in the Frick Collection, and on an unsigned Regulator, circa 1785, in the Louvre, (T. Dell, The Frick Collection, volume VI, New York, 1992, pp. 62-70). While the bronzier responsible for the Apollo mount has not been identified with certainty, the distinctive floral trails to the angles of the secrétaire are even more characteristic for the work of Pierre Gouthière. As mentioned above, the jewel-like floral trails also feature on a commode by Riesener in the Wallace Collection (F247), delivered by Riesener on 9 December 1780 for Marie-Antoinette's cabinet intérieur at Versailles (P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Furniture, Volume II, London, 1996, pp. 866-873), and when the 4th Marquess of Hertford's agent, Durlacher, acquired the commode at the prince de Beauvau's sale on 21 April 1865, the catalogue note described the commode as being 'très richement garnie de bronzes finement ciselés et dorés au mat par GOUTHIÈRES' (ibid. p. 872). The swags of roses, pinks and other flowers to the side drawer fronts of the commode are closely related to those flanking the Apollo mask on the secrétaire and both feature a simulated nail tied with ribbons terminating in ragged ends. Similar pendants and swags also feature on another commode of 1782 by Riesener supplied for the Chambre de la Reine at the château de Marly (Verlet, op. cit , pp. 24-26 and pl. XII). Verlet notes that these surprisingly realistically-cast ormolu flowers were also found on other pieces delivered by Riesener to Marie-Antoinette for Versailles, the Petit Trianon and later Saint-Cloud. In the example at Marly, Verlet stated the the perfection achieved on the mounts was such that these could only be the works of Gouthière (ibid. p. 25).
The large pierced foliate escutcheon is found on a small secrétaire-a-abattant attributed to Riesener, in the Musée Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat, while the pair of small keyhole escutcheons also appears on a secrétaire-a-abattant, circa 1780 and attributed to Riesener, now in the Louvre (bequest of Baron Basile de Schlichting, museum no. OA 6875) as well as on a secrétaire executed for Marie Antoinette's cabinet interieur at Versailles and now in the Wallace Collection, No. F303.
THE PROVENANCE
Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818-1874):
The fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836), studied at the University of Leipzig and Heidelberg University and subsequently became the first member of his family to receive an education at an English university, spending time at both Magdalene and Trinity College, Cambridge. He built Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire and engaged the architect Joseph Paxton, regarded as the 'new Christopher Wren'. The interiors of Mentmore dazzled contemporary visitors and Lady Eastlake wrote after a visit "I do not believe that the Medici were ever so lodged at the height of their glory". Baron Mayer's collections at Mentmore contained many Royal pieces of French furniture by the most outstanding French ébénistes such as Riesener, B.V.R.B and J.-F. Oeben. The secrétaire remained with the counts of Roseberry until it was sold by Eva, countess of Roseberry, in 1991.
The Lagerfeld Collection:
In a spectacular sale in spring 2000, Christie's Monaco sold about 400 pieces of 18th-century French furniture, silver, porcelain, works of art and textiles from the Paris hôtel particulier of the couturier Karl Lagerfeld. The pre-sale view inaugurating Christie's new headquarters in Paris alone attracted some 12,000 people and the collection - including many items with Royal provenances - was rounded off with the sale of his pictures a few months later in New York, totaling close to $29 million.
Jean-Henri Riesener was, together with Boulle and Cressent, one of the very few ébénistes to be mentioned in 18th century auction catalogues and this secrétaire, while not stamped, is unmistakably Riesener's work and characteristic for his oeuvre. Celebrated for his use of marquetry of the highest quality as much as for his more restrained pieces with perfectly-selected mahogany decorated with finely-chased jewel-like ormolu mounts, this secretaire exemplifies his production of the 1780s and is stylistically related to a commode in the Wallace Collection. The latter is similarly decorated in exquisitely-figured mahogany veneers, stamped by Riesener and bears the same distinctive ormolu floral trails to the angles, which further allows us to identify the superb mounts as the work of Gouthière. This secrétaire is further related to a group of pieces commissioned in 1786 by Marie-Antoinette for the Salon des Nobles at Versailles, which included three commodes and two encoignures of related character (C. Frégnac et. al., Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle français, Paris, 1963, pp. 194-195). Further related examples to have come to auction include a secrétaire-a-abattant sold at Christie's, Monaco, 21 June 1998, lot 577 (FF2,982,500), one sold at Christie's, New York, 23 May 1995, lot 194 ($354,500) and a third example, stamped four times J.H.RIESENER, sold at Christie's, New York, 21 May 1997, lot 625.
A COLLABORATION BETWEEN RIESENER AND GOUTHIERE?
The exceptionally chased Apollo mask to the frieze of the present example is a recurrent feature on later stamped furniture by Riesener. With tresses tied together both above and below the head, two laurel branches crossing beneath the chin, and rays of light streaming from the deity's countenance, the mount ranks amongst the finest gilt bronzes of the period and also features on a pair of commodes, one of which was supplied by Riesener in 1775 for King Louis XVI's bedchamber at Versailles. Now in the Musée Condé, château du Chantilly (no. OA 245), this example may be the first appearance of this mount (Pierre Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, Vol. I, Paris, 1990, pp. 21-24). Another example appears on a Jewel Cabinet made for Marie-Joséphine-Louise of Savoy, Comtesse de Provence, circa 1787. It stood in the apartment of the Comtesse and her husband, the Comte and future Louis XVIII, in the Palais du Petit-Luxembourg and is today in the Royal Collection (Ed. J. Roberts, Royal Treasures: A Golden Jubilee Celebration, London, 2002, no. 105, p.180-182). The motif also appears on a mahogany commode of 1785-90 executed by Riesener, now in the Frick Collection, and on an unsigned Regulator, circa 1785, in the Louvre, (T. Dell, The Frick Collection, volume VI, New York, 1992, pp. 62-70). While the bronzier responsible for the Apollo mount has not been identified with certainty, the distinctive floral trails to the angles of the secrétaire are even more characteristic for the work of Pierre Gouthière. As mentioned above, the jewel-like floral trails also feature on a commode by Riesener in the Wallace Collection (F247), delivered by Riesener on 9 December 1780 for Marie-Antoinette's cabinet intérieur at Versailles (P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Furniture, Volume II, London, 1996, pp. 866-873), and when the 4th Marquess of Hertford's agent, Durlacher, acquired the commode at the prince de Beauvau's sale on 21 April 1865, the catalogue note described the commode as being 'très richement garnie de bronzes finement ciselés et dorés au mat par GOUTHIÈRES' (ibid. p. 872). The swags of roses, pinks and other flowers to the side drawer fronts of the commode are closely related to those flanking the Apollo mask on the secrétaire and both feature a simulated nail tied with ribbons terminating in ragged ends. Similar pendants and swags also feature on another commode of 1782 by Riesener supplied for the Chambre de la Reine at the château de Marly (Verlet, op. cit , pp. 24-26 and pl. XII). Verlet notes that these surprisingly realistically-cast ormolu flowers were also found on other pieces delivered by Riesener to Marie-Antoinette for Versailles, the Petit Trianon and later Saint-Cloud. In the example at Marly, Verlet stated the the perfection achieved on the mounts was such that these could only be the works of Gouthière (ibid. p. 25).
The large pierced foliate escutcheon is found on a small secrétaire-a-abattant attributed to Riesener, in the Musée Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat, while the pair of small keyhole escutcheons also appears on a secrétaire-a-abattant, circa 1780 and attributed to Riesener, now in the Louvre (bequest of Baron Basile de Schlichting, museum no. OA 6875) as well as on a secrétaire executed for Marie Antoinette's cabinet interieur at Versailles and now in the Wallace Collection, No. F303.
THE PROVENANCE
Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818-1874):
The fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836), studied at the University of Leipzig and Heidelberg University and subsequently became the first member of his family to receive an education at an English university, spending time at both Magdalene and Trinity College, Cambridge. He built Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire and engaged the architect Joseph Paxton, regarded as the 'new Christopher Wren'. The interiors of Mentmore dazzled contemporary visitors and Lady Eastlake wrote after a visit "I do not believe that the Medici were ever so lodged at the height of their glory". Baron Mayer's collections at Mentmore contained many Royal pieces of French furniture by the most outstanding French ébénistes such as Riesener, B.V.R.B and J.-F. Oeben. The secrétaire remained with the counts of Roseberry until it was sold by Eva, countess of Roseberry, in 1991.
The Lagerfeld Collection:
In a spectacular sale in spring 2000, Christie's Monaco sold about 400 pieces of 18th-century French furniture, silver, porcelain, works of art and textiles from the Paris hôtel particulier of the couturier Karl Lagerfeld. The pre-sale view inaugurating Christie's new headquarters in Paris alone attracted some 12,000 people and the collection - including many items with Royal provenances - was rounded off with the sale of his pictures a few months later in New York, totaling close to $29 million.