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Lot Essay
This elegant Louis XV commode dates from circa 1740 and illustrates both the
European passion for using materials from the Far East and the Parisian taste of
transforming such materials into the most luxurious pieces of the time. This fashion
of mounting lacquer onto furniture was promoted by the marchands-mercier of Paris
in the 1740s and 1750s, such as Lazare Duvaux and Thomas-Joachim Hébert. These
marchands-mercier held a monopoly on the import of such precious goods from
the Far East as lacquer and porcelain. This commode, decorated with Vernis Martin
panels, is a demonstration of the Paris fashion for creating decoration in imitation of
Oriental lacquer, due to the increasingly high cost of imports from the Far East. Vernis
Martin was created by the Martin brothers, Guillaume and Etienne-Simon, who were
instrumental in developing the technique.
European passion for using materials from the Far East and the Parisian taste of
transforming such materials into the most luxurious pieces of the time. This fashion
of mounting lacquer onto furniture was promoted by the marchands-mercier of Paris
in the 1740s and 1750s, such as Lazare Duvaux and Thomas-Joachim Hébert. These
marchands-mercier held a monopoly on the import of such precious goods from
the Far East as lacquer and porcelain. This commode, decorated with Vernis Martin
panels, is a demonstration of the Paris fashion for creating decoration in imitation of
Oriental lacquer, due to the increasingly high cost of imports from the Far East. Vernis
Martin was created by the Martin brothers, Guillaume and Etienne-Simon, who were
instrumental in developing the technique.