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Lot Essay
Pierre Garnier, maître in 1742.
Pierre Garnier (d. 1806), one of the early pioneers of the new gôut-grec style, which had been introduced and promoted by connoisseur-collectors such as Lalive de Jully (d. 1779). Pierre Garnier, son of cabinet-maker François Garnier, became maître-ébéniste in 1742 at the early age of 16 and from 1761 produced furniture in an advanced neo-classical style based on rectilinear forms and ornamentation derived from the architecture of classical antiquity. Madame de Pompadour's brother, the Marquis de Marigny (d. 1781) was perhaps Garnier’s most important patron and he entrusted Garnier with a variety of commissions for furniture in the ultra-fashionable gôut-grec. Marigny had a predilection for lacquer, ebony and mahogany applied with contrasting ormolu mounts and this pair of cabinets which were supplied to an unknown patron would certainly have appealed to his aesthetic. Interestingly, a closely related meuble d'appui which at the time was not attributed to Garnier was sold from the Collection of Evelyn Annenberg Hall at Christie's, New York, 17 May 2006, lot 330.
CONSUELO VANDERBILT BALSAN (1877-1964)
The daughter of William Kissam Vanderbilt and Alva Smith Belmont, Consuelo became a celebrated debutante at her parents' Newport residence, Marble House, where in August of 1895 she met Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough. She married the Duke that autumn and returned to England to live at Blenheim Palace. She separated from the 9th Duke in 1905 and was officially divorced in 1920. The following summer she married the French aviator and her close friend, Jacques Balsan. Settling in France, they divided their time between the splendid 17th century château de Saint-Georges-Motel, near Eure, Normandy and the hôtel Marlborough, Paris, both of which they filled with exceptional French furniture and works of art of the ancien régime.
Pierre Garnier (d. 1806), one of the early pioneers of the new gôut-grec style, which had been introduced and promoted by connoisseur-collectors such as Lalive de Jully (d. 1779). Pierre Garnier, son of cabinet-maker François Garnier, became maître-ébéniste in 1742 at the early age of 16 and from 1761 produced furniture in an advanced neo-classical style based on rectilinear forms and ornamentation derived from the architecture of classical antiquity. Madame de Pompadour's brother, the Marquis de Marigny (d. 1781) was perhaps Garnier’s most important patron and he entrusted Garnier with a variety of commissions for furniture in the ultra-fashionable gôut-grec. Marigny had a predilection for lacquer, ebony and mahogany applied with contrasting ormolu mounts and this pair of cabinets which were supplied to an unknown patron would certainly have appealed to his aesthetic. Interestingly, a closely related meuble d'appui which at the time was not attributed to Garnier was sold from the Collection of Evelyn Annenberg Hall at Christie's, New York, 17 May 2006, lot 330.
CONSUELO VANDERBILT BALSAN (1877-1964)
The daughter of William Kissam Vanderbilt and Alva Smith Belmont, Consuelo became a celebrated debutante at her parents' Newport residence, Marble House, where in August of 1895 she met Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough. She married the Duke that autumn and returned to England to live at Blenheim Palace. She separated from the 9th Duke in 1905 and was officially divorced in 1920. The following summer she married the French aviator and her close friend, Jacques Balsan. Settling in France, they divided their time between the splendid 17th century château de Saint-Georges-Motel, near Eure, Normandy and the hôtel Marlborough, Paris, both of which they filled with exceptional French furniture and works of art of the ancien régime.