AFTER THE MODEL BY JOSEPH STÖCKEL AND GUILLAUME BENNEMAN, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Based on the celebrated pair of sumptuous commodes à vantaux created for Marie Antoinette’s salon des jeux at the Château de Fontainebleau, the present commode perfectly encapsulates the late 19th century fascination with and desire to emulate the world of the Ancien Régime. Guillaume Benneman was one of Marie Antoinette’s preferred makers. The pair of commodes he created for the Queen, the inspiration for the present lot, was part of a series of eight which were ultimately transformed through a complex and costly process from a group of four begun by Joseph Stöckel. The pair at Fontainebleau were originally destined for Marie Antoinette’s bedroom at the Château de Compiègne, and later placed in her salon des jeux at the Château de Fontainebleau, a splendid room of superlative neo-classical design with wall panels painted with delicate arabesques.

In the 19th century, the international elite would, no doubt, have understood the importance of this model as they hastened to furnish their grand residences in a style reminiscent of the splendid rooms of Fontainebleau. A number of leading Parisian cabinetmakers of the 19th century produced faithful replicas of the model, underscoring its influence on the history of the French decorative arts. Another similar commode was sold from a private European collection, Christie’s, London, 22 September 2011, lot 32 (£73,250). A further example, by François Linke, sold Château - A Distinguished American Collection of Important 19th Century Furniture & Works of Art; Christie’s, London, 28 October 2014, lot 7 (£74,500).