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Lot Essay
This armoire reflects the sophisticated antiquarian taste of collectors of the 1820s and 1830s. Its combination of ebony veneers and sober architectural mounts recalls the Boulle revival furniture of the 1760s produced by ébénistes such as Etienne Levasseur and Philippe-Claude Montigny. The taste for 'buhl' furniture was a particular passion among English collectors of the early 19th century and was promoted by dealers such as Edward Holmes Baldock and Town & Emanuel, who would not only retailed antique 18th century pieces, but also re-modelled and adapted antique pieces, as well as created entirely new pieces to satisfy the tastes of their clients, such as the Duke of Buccleuch and the Earl of Pembroke.
The gilt-bronze figures of the Seasons on this armoire are the same as those used by Boulle for a set of bas d'armoires with two doors, a pair of which, seized during the Revolution from the Noailles family, is now at Versailles. This set of bronzes was designed and engraved by Boulle for his album published by Mariette (Nouveaux Desseins de meubles et ouvrages de bronze et marqueterie inventés et gravés par André-Charles Boulle). He reused the Seasons on several tall armoires, for instance on an example in the Wallace Collection (P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Furniture, Cambridge, 1996, vol. II, cat 173, pp. 826 - 827), and they were popular with the following generations of Boulle imitators who used them on meubles d'appui (with one door), bas d'armoires or bookcases (with two or three doors).
The gilt-bronze figures of the Seasons on this armoire are the same as those used by Boulle for a set of bas d'armoires with two doors, a pair of which, seized during the Revolution from the Noailles family, is now at Versailles. This set of bronzes was designed and engraved by Boulle for his album published by Mariette (Nouveaux Desseins de meubles et ouvrages de bronze et marqueterie inventés et gravés par André-Charles Boulle). He reused the Seasons on several tall armoires, for instance on an example in the Wallace Collection (P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Furniture, Cambridge, 1996, vol. II, cat 173, pp. 826 - 827), and they were popular with the following generations of Boulle imitators who used them on meubles d'appui (with one door), bas d'armoires or bookcases (with two or three doors).