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Lot Essay
Laurel-festooned in celebration of 'abundance through labor' and hung with lion-pelts recalling Hercules's labors, there is perhaps no greater admired nor more frequently imitated master work of French furniture than Jean-Franois Oeben and Jean-Henri Riesener's celebrated bureau du Roi. A tour de force of Belle Epoque genius and superior manufacture, the inspiration for this extraordinary bureau was an excessively-mounted bureau à cylindre commissioned by Louis XV from Oeben (maître 1759) in 1760 and ultimately completed by Riesener (maître 1768) in 1769. The bureau survived devastation at Saint-Cloud in 1870 and was subsequently moved to the Louvre. Under instructions from the fourth Marquess of Hertford, it is believed that the first 19th century reproduction of the bureau was completed between 1853 and 1870 by the little-known firm of Dreschler (C. Payne, François Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003, p. 218) and thereafter by Henry Dasson. The present model, completed as a bureau plat, was later furnished in the same style by Guillaume Jean-Benneman under the supervision of Jean Hauré and presently resides at Waddesdon Manor. In the latter half of the 19th century, faithful reproductions and variants were manufactured by the leading Parisian ébénistes, including Henry Dasson, Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener and, as illustrated here, Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley.
While the relationship between Beurdeley and Zwiener, whose mark is visible to the reverse of the bronzes on the present lot, is not clearly documented, it is certain some dialogue existed between the celebrated ébénistes. Given the enduring popularity of the bureau du Roi and its variants, the availability of maître-modèles from Zwiener's workshop would have provided Beurdeley with an opportunity to re-edit the bronzes for the present bureau. An identical bureau by Beurdeley, also bearing the mark ZN, is illustrated C. Mestdagh, L'Ameublement d'art français 1850-1900, Paris, 2010, p. 254. Similar bureaux by Maison Krieger and François Linke were sold Bonham's, New York, 7 December 2010, lot 1188 ($362,000) and Sotheby's, Paris, 22 October 2008, lot 159 (312,750 Euros), respectively.
Established in 1815 by Jean Beurdeley (d. 1853), the company's reputation was principally established under the latter's son, Louis-Auguste-Alfred (d. 1882), who succeeded his father in 1840 and opened large premises in the Pavillon de Hanovre. Known chiefly for the refinement of its ormolu, the continued success of the firm thrived under Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley (d. 1919), who directed business for the firm from 1875 until its closing in 1895. Beurdeley's inventory was subsequently sold by Galerie Georges Petit of Paris on 6-8 March and 27-28 May 1895. A reproduction of the bureau by Beurdeley was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago's World Fair (see above illustration) and was later sold in the aforementioned 1895 sale as lot 277.
While the relationship between Beurdeley and Zwiener, whose mark is visible to the reverse of the bronzes on the present lot, is not clearly documented, it is certain some dialogue existed between the celebrated ébénistes. Given the enduring popularity of the bureau du Roi and its variants, the availability of maître-modèles from Zwiener's workshop would have provided Beurdeley with an opportunity to re-edit the bronzes for the present bureau. An identical bureau by Beurdeley, also bearing the mark ZN, is illustrated C. Mestdagh, L'Ameublement d'art français 1850-1900, Paris, 2010, p. 254. Similar bureaux by Maison Krieger and François Linke were sold Bonham's, New York, 7 December 2010, lot 1188 ($362,000) and Sotheby's, Paris, 22 October 2008, lot 159 (312,750 Euros), respectively.
Established in 1815 by Jean Beurdeley (d. 1853), the company's reputation was principally established under the latter's son, Louis-Auguste-Alfred (d. 1882), who succeeded his father in 1840 and opened large premises in the Pavillon de Hanovre. Known chiefly for the refinement of its ormolu, the continued success of the firm thrived under Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley (d. 1919), who directed business for the firm from 1875 until its closing in 1895. Beurdeley's inventory was subsequently sold by Galerie Georges Petit of Paris on 6-8 March and 27-28 May 1895. A reproduction of the bureau by Beurdeley was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago's World Fair (see above illustration) and was later sold in the aforementioned 1895 sale as lot 277.