BY PIERRE ROUSSEL, CIRCA 1770

Details

A LATE LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED TULIPWOOD AND MARQUETRY BONHEUR DU JOUR
BY PIERRE ROUSSEL, CIRCA 1770
With three quarter gallery above a landscape scene of a village beside a river over three drawers inlaid with a transverse marquetry townscape, the reverse with confirming marquetry, the top with a further view of town beside a bridge, above a guilloche-mounted frieze fitted with a drawer openiing to a bookrest and out-folding compartments inlaid with urns, on cabriole legs joined by a medial shelf with trompe l'oeil marquetry, paw sabots, stamped P ROUSSEL to underside
36 ¾ in. (93.5 cm.) high, 27 ½ in. (70 cm.) wide, 18 ¼ in. (46.5 cm.) deep

Provenance

Lord Foley at Ruxley Lodge, Claygate, Surrey, England; Castiglione & Scott, 14-20 October 1919, lot 231.
Joseph C. Widener.
John L. Severance
Bequest of Elisabeth Severance Prentiss to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944.
Parke Bernet, New York, 10 December 1966, lot 137.
John Dorrance; Sotheby’s, New York, 20-21 October 1989, lot 813.

Literature

Catalogue of John L. Severance Collection, Cleveland, 1955, n. 83, pg. 83.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Pierre Roussel, maître in 1745.
This charming bonheur du jour, with its combination of naïf inlaid townscapes and still-lives, is typical of the work of Pierre Roussel, whose workshop was on the rue de Charenton in the Faubourg Saint Antoine. He was evidently held in high esteem by his confrères in the guild, as he was appointed juré de sa communauté in 1762, and deputé for the guild in 1777. An inventory after his death in 1783 reflected the extensive nature of his business, with three workshops and almost 250 pieces of stock listed. A closely related bonheur du jour by Roussel, with the same distinctive angle mounts, is illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1989, p. 740, fig. D.

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