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Lot Essay
This grand bureau plat with its luxurious amaranth veneers and rich ormolu mounts is closely based on examples by Andre-Charles Boulle, the foremost ébéniste of the era who arguably invented this form. His work never went out of fashion so when the ormolu models he created were sold from the sale of his inventory after his death in March 1732, examples cast from them continued to appear on furniture by other makers. The female busts on this bureau plat as well as the drawer frames are all cast from Boulle mounts. They appear on other examples either by or attributed to Noel Gérard which also share the same profile and the distinctive elongated foot. They include one veneered in kingwood acquired by George de Ligne Gregory (1740-1822) for Harlaxton Manor, Lincolnshire and most recently sold at Sotheby’s, London 4 December 2007 lot 311 and another in ebony sold from the estate of the Marquise du Luart at Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 5 December 1959, lot 110. Two commodes also have the same distinctive foot and may also have been produced in Gérard's workshop. One, with Boulle marquetry, was sold from the collection of Hubert de Givenchy at Christie’s, Monaco, 4 December 1993, lot 78 and the other, veneered in amaranth, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Connaissance des Arts, April 1963, p.68).
Noël Gérard (d.1736) was unique in that he was a highly regarded ébéniste who leveraged his commercial acumen and clientele to become one of the most important marchands-merciers in Paris. His luxurious premises, the former hôtel of the financier Jabach, not only showcased his own work but had a comprehensive offering of anything that could be used for decoration. His workshop had a large stock of exotic woods and the capability to cast his own mounts as well as those of other makers. Gérard was one of the few makers to sign some of his work, stamping NG as seen on this bureau plat. Bureaux were one of his main productions as the inventory at the time of his death listed twenty-three of them in various stages of completion. In addition to what was produced in his workshop. Gérard also commissioned pieces from other ébénistes which he sold as a marchand-mercier.
THE PROVENANCE
This bureau plat has been part of three illustrious Francophile collections: the Earls of Bridgewater, Mrs. Elanor Hamilton Rice and Ogden Phipps. Although its earlier origins are currently unknown, it first appears at Ashridge Park, which was built by John William Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater (1752-1823) between 1808 and 1820 in the Gothic revival style. Ashridge also contained another important bureau plat attributed to André-Charles Boulle which was sold in the Wildenstein Collection at Christie’s, London, 15 December 2005, lot 15. A Gilded Age philanthropist who famously lost her first husband George D. Widener in the Titanic, Mrs. Hamilton Rice (1862-1937) commissioned Horace Trumbauer in the early 1920s to build a townhouse in the restrained Louis XVI manner which was filled with French furniture and decorations. Most recently, this bureau plat formed part of the celebrated collection of Ogden Phipps (1908-2002) who amassed both French and English furniture that included works inherited from his grandparents, Ogden and Ruth Mills, who assembled one of the greatest collections of French furniture in the Gilded Age.
Noël Gérard (d.1736) was unique in that he was a highly regarded ébéniste who leveraged his commercial acumen and clientele to become one of the most important marchands-merciers in Paris. His luxurious premises, the former hôtel of the financier Jabach, not only showcased his own work but had a comprehensive offering of anything that could be used for decoration. His workshop had a large stock of exotic woods and the capability to cast his own mounts as well as those of other makers. Gérard was one of the few makers to sign some of his work, stamping NG as seen on this bureau plat. Bureaux were one of his main productions as the inventory at the time of his death listed twenty-three of them in various stages of completion. In addition to what was produced in his workshop. Gérard also commissioned pieces from other ébénistes which he sold as a marchand-mercier.
THE PROVENANCE
This bureau plat has been part of three illustrious Francophile collections: the Earls of Bridgewater, Mrs. Elanor Hamilton Rice and Ogden Phipps. Although its earlier origins are currently unknown, it first appears at Ashridge Park, which was built by John William Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater (1752-1823) between 1808 and 1820 in the Gothic revival style. Ashridge also contained another important bureau plat attributed to André-Charles Boulle which was sold in the Wildenstein Collection at Christie’s, London, 15 December 2005, lot 15. A Gilded Age philanthropist who famously lost her first husband George D. Widener in the Titanic, Mrs. Hamilton Rice (1862-1937) commissioned Horace Trumbauer in the early 1920s to build a townhouse in the restrained Louis XVI manner which was filled with French furniture and decorations. Most recently, this bureau plat formed part of the celebrated collection of Ogden Phipps (1908-2002) who amassed both French and English furniture that included works inherited from his grandparents, Ogden and Ruth Mills, who assembled one of the greatest collections of French furniture in the Gilded Age.