ONE SOUTH GERMAN, CIRCA 1740, THREE OF A LATER DATE

The carved serpent-dragons entwined around the legs of these tabourets relate this lot the oeuvre of Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), whose designs for similar fantastical beasts can be found in his Nouveaux Desseins de Pieds de Tables et de Vases et Consoles de Sculpture en bois, published by J. J. Mariette in 1734. The heads of the dragons are similar to those which appear on a console table in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, illustrated in Chefs-d'oeuvre du Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1985, p. 49. The dragon motif, whether winged or serpent-form, was employed to great effect by European dessinateurs in the first half of the eighteenth century, enjoying especially great popularity in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. These stools are closely related to the work of the carver Ferdinand Hundt (c. 1704-1758), who was employed by the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg in the 1740s. Hundt’s distinctive style was influenced by the activity of the Vienna-trained sculptor Johann Wolfgang van der Auvera (708-1756), with whom Hundt worked in the prince-bishop’s Residenz. A console table by Hundt featuring dragons similarly wrapped around the legs is at Schloss Favorite in Rastatt and Schloss Bruchsal (H. Kreisel, Die Kunst des deutschen Möbels, II, Munich, 1970, figs. 566 and 568). An armchair with dragon-form arms, attributed to Hund, is preserved in Schloss Schwetzingen (ibid., fig. 567). A pair of stools and a bench en suite identical to this lot were sold Christie's, New York, 17-18 July 2007, lots 255 and 256. Other stools of this design, presumably from the same suite, include a pair sold Sotheby's, Florence, 23 May 1988, lot 570; a pair sold Sotheby's, New York, 10-11 March 1961, lot 324; and another pair sold Sotheby's, New York, 11-12 November 1960, lot 751.