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Lot Essay
Martin Carlin (c. 1730-1785) was born in Germany and emigrated to France, settling in Paris at the workshop of fellow German and ébéniste du roi Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763). In 1759 Carlin married Oeben’s sister and the couple took up residence in an apartment in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine neighborhood of Paris, home to many skilled Flemish and German artisans. Carlin received his maîtrise in 1766. Shortly thereafter, Carlin entered into a long-standing relationship with the marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier (c. 1720-1785). The partnership of Poirier and Carlin arguably produced the finest porcelain-mounted furniture of the time. Later, Poirier’s partner, Dominique Daguerre (c. 1740-1796), took over the establishment after Poirier’s retirement. Carlin produced a number of exquisite larger works such as secretaires and commodes, but his most saleable furnishings were the small and elegant pieces such as tables en chiffonnière, gueridons, music stands and jewel cabinets.
Called a table en chiffonnière according to the Encyclopédie of 1765, this was a model of table dont se servent ordinairement les femmes pour le dépôt de leurs ouvrages ou chiffons. Contrastingly, its pendant model, enriched with a further Sèvres porcelain plateau to the upper tier, was used as a table en cabaret in a salon or boudoir as a place to stand cups of hot tea, coffee or chocolate.
This exact pattern seems to have been invented in 1771, when the marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier acquired from the Manufacture Royale de Sèvres 3 quarts de cercles 15l...45l. The table for which those plaques was intended may be identified with that in the Metropolitan Museum which, exceptionally, displays plaques with the date letter for 1771 (illustrated in F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, Vol. III, New York, 1970, pp. 52-4, no. 297).
Between 1772 and 1776, 67 plaques en quart de cercle were sold to Poirier and his successor, Dominique Daguerre. These were used interchangeably for both tables en cabaret and en chiffonnìere, as well as on secrétaires en cabinet. In December 1773 Madame du Barry acquired in Paris a table en cabaret for 840 livres, and this was still at the château de Louveciennes in 1793. It is interesting to note that the majority of Sèvres plaques en quart de cercle mounted on furniture display neither the date letter, nor the mark of the Sèvres manufactory.
Whilst three tables en chiffonnière are recorded in 18th-century inventories, the sparse descriptions frustratingly do not allow for clear identification and tracing to the present examples but are tantalizing to consider nonetheless:
- The first was undoubtedly given to the Princesse Louise-Bathilde de Bourbon Condé before 1778, when she went on to pursue her education at the Abbaye de Panthémont:- Une autre petit chiffonnière en baril à deux étages dont le dernier orné de trois pans en porcelaine, fond blanc, le fond en bois de rose richement orné et balustrade en bronze doré d'or moulu
- The second belonged to the duchesse de Choiseul-Praslin before 1784, when it is precisely described in an Inventory:- Une petite table ronde en bois de rose à panneaux de porcelaine de Sèvres, fond blanc à fleurs à trois pieds de biche et tablette. Le tout orné de balustre à jour, moulures, rosettes et autres accessoires en bronze doré.
- The third was perhaps given by Madame Adélaïde, aunt of Louis XVI, to her friend the duchesse de Narbonne. This table is clearly described during the Revolution:- Une petite table ronde à deux tablettes dont les frises en porcelaine garnie de bronze et balustres de cuivre doré d'or moulu, ouverte et vide, la dite table en bois de rose...
The latter, which had reputedly passed by descent from Mademoiselle de Penthièvre, duchesse d'Orléans, was sold in Paris from the Dubois-Chefdebien Collection, 13-14 February 1942, lot 112.
THE MODEL AND VARIANTS
Martin Carlin went on to adapt and refine his original concept and so whilst this table and its pendant (lot 48) are should be considered as part of wider group of porcelain-mounted gueridons or tables en chiffonnieres, this exact form, where both the top and the undertier are centred with a marquetry rosette or patera is rare. There are five known examples, in addition to this one, one of which formerly in the collection of Alix Lacarré, is offered as lot 48.
- one is in the Musée du Louvre (OA 10 467), the plaques undated, illustrated in D. Alcouffe, Le Mobilier du Musée du Louvre, Dijon, 1993, Vol. I, p. 229, no.70, a gift of M. and Mme. Grog-Carven.
- another was sold from the Peñard y Fernandez Collection, Palais Galliera, Paris, 7 December 1960, lot 129.
- another, with plaques dated 1771 and formerly in the collection of the comte de Flahaut, is now in the Wrightsman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York [1976.155.104].
- another from the collection of Alix Lacarré, was sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 14-15 June 1981, lot 122 (offered as lot 48).
- and a final example, formerly in the collection of Alphonse de Rothschild, then Edouard de Rothschild, was sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 21 May 1978, lot 15.
Two related models by Carlin have been offered at Christie's from the Rothschild collections. The first originating in the Baron Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911) collection with Sèvres porcelain top and undertier with ormolu supports, sold in London, 4 July 2019, lot 18 (£551,250 including premium). The second, tulipwood and marquetry with a 19th-century Sèvres plaque to the centre of the top, from the collection of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (1827-1905) at hôtel Saint-Florentin, Paris, sold Christie's, New York, 13 October 2023, lot 327 ($327,600 including premium).
Called a table en chiffonnière according to the Encyclopédie of 1765, this was a model of table dont se servent ordinairement les femmes pour le dépôt de leurs ouvrages ou chiffons. Contrastingly, its pendant model, enriched with a further Sèvres porcelain plateau to the upper tier, was used as a table en cabaret in a salon or boudoir as a place to stand cups of hot tea, coffee or chocolate.
This exact pattern seems to have been invented in 1771, when the marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier acquired from the Manufacture Royale de Sèvres 3 quarts de cercles 15l...45l. The table for which those plaques was intended may be identified with that in the Metropolitan Museum which, exceptionally, displays plaques with the date letter for 1771 (illustrated in F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, Vol. III, New York, 1970, pp. 52-4, no. 297).
Between 1772 and 1776, 67 plaques en quart de cercle were sold to Poirier and his successor, Dominique Daguerre. These were used interchangeably for both tables en cabaret and en chiffonnìere, as well as on secrétaires en cabinet. In December 1773 Madame du Barry acquired in Paris a table en cabaret for 840 livres, and this was still at the château de Louveciennes in 1793. It is interesting to note that the majority of Sèvres plaques en quart de cercle mounted on furniture display neither the date letter, nor the mark of the Sèvres manufactory.
Whilst three tables en chiffonnière are recorded in 18th-century inventories, the sparse descriptions frustratingly do not allow for clear identification and tracing to the present examples but are tantalizing to consider nonetheless:
- The first was undoubtedly given to the Princesse Louise-Bathilde de Bourbon Condé before 1778, when she went on to pursue her education at the Abbaye de Panthémont:- Une autre petit chiffonnière en baril à deux étages dont le dernier orné de trois pans en porcelaine, fond blanc, le fond en bois de rose richement orné et balustrade en bronze doré d'or moulu
- The second belonged to the duchesse de Choiseul-Praslin before 1784, when it is precisely described in an Inventory:- Une petite table ronde en bois de rose à panneaux de porcelaine de Sèvres, fond blanc à fleurs à trois pieds de biche et tablette. Le tout orné de balustre à jour, moulures, rosettes et autres accessoires en bronze doré.
- The third was perhaps given by Madame Adélaïde, aunt of Louis XVI, to her friend the duchesse de Narbonne. This table is clearly described during the Revolution:- Une petite table ronde à deux tablettes dont les frises en porcelaine garnie de bronze et balustres de cuivre doré d'or moulu, ouverte et vide, la dite table en bois de rose...
The latter, which had reputedly passed by descent from Mademoiselle de Penthièvre, duchesse d'Orléans, was sold in Paris from the Dubois-Chefdebien Collection, 13-14 February 1942, lot 112.
THE MODEL AND VARIANTS
Martin Carlin went on to adapt and refine his original concept and so whilst this table and its pendant (lot 48) are should be considered as part of wider group of porcelain-mounted gueridons or tables en chiffonnieres, this exact form, where both the top and the undertier are centred with a marquetry rosette or patera is rare. There are five known examples, in addition to this one, one of which formerly in the collection of Alix Lacarré, is offered as lot 48.
- one is in the Musée du Louvre (OA 10 467), the plaques undated, illustrated in D. Alcouffe, Le Mobilier du Musée du Louvre, Dijon, 1993, Vol. I, p. 229, no.70, a gift of M. and Mme. Grog-Carven.
- another was sold from the Peñard y Fernandez Collection, Palais Galliera, Paris, 7 December 1960, lot 129.
- another, with plaques dated 1771 and formerly in the collection of the comte de Flahaut, is now in the Wrightsman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York [1976.155.104].
- another from the collection of Alix Lacarré, was sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 14-15 June 1981, lot 122 (offered as lot 48).
- and a final example, formerly in the collection of Alphonse de Rothschild, then Edouard de Rothschild, was sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 21 May 1978, lot 15.
Two related models by Carlin have been offered at Christie's from the Rothschild collections. The first originating in the Baron Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911) collection with Sèvres porcelain top and undertier with ormolu supports, sold in London, 4 July 2019, lot 18 (£551,250 including premium). The second, tulipwood and marquetry with a 19th-century Sèvres plaque to the centre of the top, from the collection of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (1827-1905) at hôtel Saint-Florentin, Paris, sold Christie's, New York, 13 October 2023, lot 327 ($327,600 including premium).