Lot Essay
`FRENCH' CABINET-MAKING IN THE NETHERLANDS IN THE 18TH CENTURY
This elegant card-table is conceived in the Dutch Louis XV style of the late 1760s or early 1770s and reflects the fashion for French furniture which grew consistently in the 18th Century. French furniture was in fact imported in such large quantities into Holland that it posed a threat to the livelihood of local craftsmen. It is interesting, that, in an attempt to put a ban on the influx of furniture from abroad, the guilds of furniture-makers of Amsterdam and The Hague filed official complaints with their city counsil, respectively in 1770 and 1771.
As a result, numerous Dutch cabinet-makers attempted to emulate the fashionable French style. Although furniture embellished with `French' marquetry was undoubtably produced in several Dutch towns, it was probably most admired in The Hague, where, as the base of the Stadholder's Court and foreign embassies, the French Court style had been a significant influence on the decorative arts and architecture thoughout the 18th Century. (R.J. Baarsen, ``In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag', Mattijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de 2de helft van de 18de eeuw', Oud Holland 107 (1993), p. 163.
The first Hague cabinet-maker to master the French style may have been Matthieu Franses (ca. 1726-1788). Franses, who hailed from Kempen in Germany, had been based in The Hague since at least 1751, and managed a succesful atelier, with 10 workbenches, which catered to a fashionable clientèle. Although no items of furniture can be attributed to him, Franses' advertisement in the 's Gravenhaegse Courant of 6 May 1761, reflects his innovative French-inspired cabinet-making: `MATHIEU FRANSES, Maître menuisier demeurant à Haye dans le Hoogstraat, à l'Enseigne du Noyer, avertit le Public, qu'il fait et vend des Commones [sic] & Tables incrustées de lâme de Cuivres dorees au feu, & faites à la Franoise...'. (Baarsen,ibid, pp. 163-164)
MATTHIJS HORRIX
This card-table is embellished with double interlaced geometirc amaranth borders or grecques, and floral marquetry with a walnut ground, and relates to the early oeuvre of the celebrated Hague cabinet-maker Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809). Horrix was admitted to the Hague guild as Meester Kabinetwerker in 1764, and became the principal supplier of furniture to the Stadholder's Court between 1767 and 1795. (Baarsen, ibid, pp. 166 and 183-190) Following the marriage in 1767 of Stadholder Prince William V and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, several of the Royal residences were modernised and refurbished. Horrix received the prestigeous commission to provide the Stadholder's Quarters with `Commodes, Tables etc.', for which he was paid 1515 florins. In addition he charged 650.8 florins for `..commodes en secretaires etc' supplied for the country seat Het Loo. (Baarsen, ibid, p.172.) A substantial number of commodes are currently firmly attributed to Horrix and may have been part of his deliveries to the Court in 1767. All these commodes have similar floral marquetry decoration, divided by intricate interlaced strapwork, the character and arrangement of which shows the influence of the Parisian ébéniste du Roi Jean-Franoisan Oeben (1721-1763), who developed a new type of floral marquetry in the 1750s which won him many followers throughout Europe. (Baarsen, ibid, p.194)
TABLES DES JEUX
Throughout the Middle Ages, and even as late as the 17th Century, cards were generally played on any sort of table while other games like backgammon and chess were played on folding playing boards, which were occasionally embellished with delicate marquetry or precious stones. The earliest mention of an item of furniture specifically made for playing a game, may have been the `grant table à jeu de billes, couverte de drap vert', listed in the inventory of the Duchesse de Valentinois in 1514. Other than that green cloth was used as a playing-surface, very little can be said about the appearance of this early example. (H. Havard, Dictionnaire de l'ameublement et de la décoration, Paris, 1887, IV, p. 1121)
In the 17th Century games-tables were produced on a larger scale and were more frequently used in fashionable circles. The Inventaire General des meubles de la Couronne mentions thirteen of these tables between 1682 and 1696. In 1683 `Une table en triangle, à jouer au jeu de culbas' is listed and in 1696 `Une table à cinq pans, à jouer au jeu de brelan, couverte de velours vert, avec panted autour de mesme velours, doubleé de taffetas, garni de frange, mollet et gallon d'or'. These tables were probably still made of an inferior timber, whereas most emphasis was put on the textile components, which may have been en suite with the other furnishings of the room. (J. Guiffrey, Inventaire Général de la Couronne sous Louis XIV (1663-1715), Paris, 1885, II, p. 376 and p. 426)
During the 18th Century games became an essential part of social life, also in less exalted circles, and appear in larger quantities in contempory inventories and sale notices. Cabinet-makers started to produce more durable and richly-decorated games-tables, but their decoration rarely reached the level of commodes and secretaires, which were placed against the wall, as the mobility and functionality of games-tables was paramount. Roubo discusses games-tables at great length in his L'Art du Menuisier, and gave strong preference to the folding variety:`Comme les Tables à jouer ne servent pas toujours, & que dans les maisons où l'on joue ordinairement, il en faut plusieurs, il arrive que hors le temps du jeu, ces Tables deviennent embarrassantes, ce qui fait imaginer de les briser en deux sur leur largeur'. (A. Roubo, L'Art du Menuisier, Paris, 1772, III, p. 713)
GAMES-TABLES IN THE RESIDENCES OF THE STADHOLDERS
The first games-table to appear in an inventory of one of the residences of the House of Orange-Nassau, was `Een speultafel, Augsburgs silver, heeft 350 riksdaler gekost', which is listed among the possessions of Princess Henriette Amalia of Nassau-Dietz in the 1688 inventory of `het Hof' in Leeuwarden. It is interesting that this first example was made of silver and that the inventory specifically mentions the vast price that was paid. (S.W.A. Drossaers and Th.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Inventarissen van de inboedels van de verblijven van de Oranjes 1567-1795, R.P.G. gr. serie, The Hague, 1974, Vol. II, p. 140.)
During the following Century games clearly became increasingly popular at the Stadholder's Court, which is reflected by the growing number of listings in most of the inventories. In the 1702 inventory of the `Huis in het Noordeinde' (presently Noordeinde palace), which was compiled after the death of King-Stadholder William III, only one example is listed, which was placed in the `porceleyncabinet' and is described as `een ovael speeltafeltje bekleet met groen damast'. (Drossaers, et. al., Vol.I, p.486)
Games-tables were more numerous at Oranienstein, where an inventory was compiled after the death of Princess Henriette-Amalia in 1726. In the `Ostindisch porcelleyn cabinet' there were `zwey extra feyne verlackte spieltische'. In `Die grosze gallery' there is mention of `Fnff spieltische von differenter gattung' and in a small cabinet `Ein spieltisch von olivenholz mit elfenbein eingelegt' is listed. (Drossaers, et. al., Vol. II, pp. 354-362)
Matthijs Horrix also supplied several games-tables to the Stadholder's Court. In 1767, just after the marriage of Prince William V and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, Horrix received 154 florins for `speel en thee tafels en blaadjes', which he delivered to `het Oude Hof', whereas Johan Hendrik Nohr (ca. 1702-1790) was paid 247 florins for `Cadrilje en Theetafels' and 188 florins for `agt Mahonij Speel-Tafels etc.', which he supplied to `Het Loo'. (Baarsen, ibid, p. 172)
See illustration
This elegant card-table is conceived in the Dutch Louis XV style of the late 1760s or early 1770s and reflects the fashion for French furniture which grew consistently in the 18th Century. French furniture was in fact imported in such large quantities into Holland that it posed a threat to the livelihood of local craftsmen. It is interesting, that, in an attempt to put a ban on the influx of furniture from abroad, the guilds of furniture-makers of Amsterdam and The Hague filed official complaints with their city counsil, respectively in 1770 and 1771.
As a result, numerous Dutch cabinet-makers attempted to emulate the fashionable French style. Although furniture embellished with `French' marquetry was undoubtably produced in several Dutch towns, it was probably most admired in The Hague, where, as the base of the Stadholder's Court and foreign embassies, the French Court style had been a significant influence on the decorative arts and architecture thoughout the 18th Century. (R.J. Baarsen, ``In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag', Mattijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de 2de helft van de 18de eeuw', Oud Holland 107 (1993), p. 163.
The first Hague cabinet-maker to master the French style may have been Matthieu Franses (ca. 1726-1788). Franses, who hailed from Kempen in Germany, had been based in The Hague since at least 1751, and managed a succesful atelier, with 10 workbenches, which catered to a fashionable clientèle. Although no items of furniture can be attributed to him, Franses' advertisement in the 's Gravenhaegse Courant of 6 May 1761, reflects his innovative French-inspired cabinet-making: `MATHIEU FRANSES, Maître menuisier demeurant à Haye dans le Hoogstraat, à l'Enseigne du Noyer, avertit le Public, qu'il fait et vend des Commones [sic] & Tables incrustées de lâme de Cuivres dorees au feu, & faites à la Franoise...'. (Baarsen,ibid, pp. 163-164)
MATTHIJS HORRIX
This card-table is embellished with double interlaced geometirc amaranth borders or grecques, and floral marquetry with a walnut ground, and relates to the early oeuvre of the celebrated Hague cabinet-maker Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809). Horrix was admitted to the Hague guild as Meester Kabinetwerker in 1764, and became the principal supplier of furniture to the Stadholder's Court between 1767 and 1795. (Baarsen, ibid, pp. 166 and 183-190) Following the marriage in 1767 of Stadholder Prince William V and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, several of the Royal residences were modernised and refurbished. Horrix received the prestigeous commission to provide the Stadholder's Quarters with `Commodes, Tables etc.', for which he was paid 1515 florins. In addition he charged 650.8 florins for `..commodes en secretaires etc' supplied for the country seat Het Loo. (Baarsen, ibid, p.172.) A substantial number of commodes are currently firmly attributed to Horrix and may have been part of his deliveries to the Court in 1767. All these commodes have similar floral marquetry decoration, divided by intricate interlaced strapwork, the character and arrangement of which shows the influence of the Parisian ébéniste du Roi Jean-Franoisan Oeben (1721-1763), who developed a new type of floral marquetry in the 1750s which won him many followers throughout Europe. (Baarsen, ibid, p.194)
TABLES DES JEUX
Throughout the Middle Ages, and even as late as the 17th Century, cards were generally played on any sort of table while other games like backgammon and chess were played on folding playing boards, which were occasionally embellished with delicate marquetry or precious stones. The earliest mention of an item of furniture specifically made for playing a game, may have been the `grant table à jeu de billes, couverte de drap vert', listed in the inventory of the Duchesse de Valentinois in 1514. Other than that green cloth was used as a playing-surface, very little can be said about the appearance of this early example. (H. Havard, Dictionnaire de l'ameublement et de la décoration, Paris, 1887, IV, p. 1121)
In the 17th Century games-tables were produced on a larger scale and were more frequently used in fashionable circles. The Inventaire General des meubles de la Couronne mentions thirteen of these tables between 1682 and 1696. In 1683 `Une table en triangle, à jouer au jeu de culbas' is listed and in 1696 `Une table à cinq pans, à jouer au jeu de brelan, couverte de velours vert, avec panted autour de mesme velours, doubleé de taffetas, garni de frange, mollet et gallon d'or'. These tables were probably still made of an inferior timber, whereas most emphasis was put on the textile components, which may have been en suite with the other furnishings of the room. (J. Guiffrey, Inventaire Général de la Couronne sous Louis XIV (1663-1715), Paris, 1885, II, p. 376 and p. 426)
During the 18th Century games became an essential part of social life, also in less exalted circles, and appear in larger quantities in contempory inventories and sale notices. Cabinet-makers started to produce more durable and richly-decorated games-tables, but their decoration rarely reached the level of commodes and secretaires, which were placed against the wall, as the mobility and functionality of games-tables was paramount. Roubo discusses games-tables at great length in his L'Art du Menuisier, and gave strong preference to the folding variety:`Comme les Tables à jouer ne servent pas toujours, & que dans les maisons où l'on joue ordinairement, il en faut plusieurs, il arrive que hors le temps du jeu, ces Tables deviennent embarrassantes, ce qui fait imaginer de les briser en deux sur leur largeur'. (A. Roubo, L'Art du Menuisier, Paris, 1772, III, p. 713)
GAMES-TABLES IN THE RESIDENCES OF THE STADHOLDERS
The first games-table to appear in an inventory of one of the residences of the House of Orange-Nassau, was `Een speultafel, Augsburgs silver, heeft 350 riksdaler gekost', which is listed among the possessions of Princess Henriette Amalia of Nassau-Dietz in the 1688 inventory of `het Hof' in Leeuwarden. It is interesting that this first example was made of silver and that the inventory specifically mentions the vast price that was paid. (S.W.A. Drossaers and Th.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Inventarissen van de inboedels van de verblijven van de Oranjes 1567-1795, R.P.G. gr. serie, The Hague, 1974, Vol. II, p. 140.)
During the following Century games clearly became increasingly popular at the Stadholder's Court, which is reflected by the growing number of listings in most of the inventories. In the 1702 inventory of the `Huis in het Noordeinde' (presently Noordeinde palace), which was compiled after the death of King-Stadholder William III, only one example is listed, which was placed in the `porceleyncabinet' and is described as `een ovael speeltafeltje bekleet met groen damast'. (Drossaers, et. al., Vol.I, p.486)
Games-tables were more numerous at Oranienstein, where an inventory was compiled after the death of Princess Henriette-Amalia in 1726. In the `Ostindisch porcelleyn cabinet' there were `zwey extra feyne verlackte spieltische'. In `Die grosze gallery' there is mention of `Fnff spieltische von differenter gattung' and in a small cabinet `Ein spieltisch von olivenholz mit elfenbein eingelegt' is listed. (Drossaers, et. al., Vol. II, pp. 354-362)
Matthijs Horrix also supplied several games-tables to the Stadholder's Court. In 1767, just after the marriage of Prince William V and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, Horrix received 154 florins for `speel en thee tafels en blaadjes', which he delivered to `het Oude Hof', whereas Johan Hendrik Nohr (ca. 1702-1790) was paid 247 florins for `Cadrilje en Theetafels' and 188 florins for `agt Mahonij Speel-Tafels etc.', which he supplied to `Het Loo'. (Baarsen, ibid, p. 172)
See illustration