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Lot Essay
Pierre Macret, ébéniste suivant la Cour from 1756.
This model of breakfront commode first evolved in the workshop of Jean-François Oeben around 1750-60. Oeben, who became ébéniste du Roi in 1754 and maître circa 1761, is credited for this elaborate parquetry of repeated cube patterns and interlaced circles (see F.J.B.Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, 1960, p.68). The design clearly characterises the goût grec of the late Louis XV period. The Oeben model had a great following and was soon emulated by many other Parisian ébénistes, such as Dautriche and Macret.
A related commode by Oeben in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu (n.72.DA.54) is illustrated in R.Stratmann-Döhler, Jean-François Oeben, Paris, 2002, p.54. This commode features very similar marquetry and has an identical arrangement of two small central drawers flanked by two doors. It is furthermore decorated with almost identical ormolu mounts, which include an apron mount depicting an acanthus-wrapped male mask surmounted by a stylised lambrequin.
An almost identical commode from the collection of the Earl of Normanton was sold in these Rooms, 16 July 1925, lot 37.
This model of breakfront commode first evolved in the workshop of Jean-François Oeben around 1750-60. Oeben, who became ébéniste du Roi in 1754 and maître circa 1761, is credited for this elaborate parquetry of repeated cube patterns and interlaced circles (see F.J.B.Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, 1960, p.68). The design clearly characterises the goût grec of the late Louis XV period. The Oeben model had a great following and was soon emulated by many other Parisian ébénistes, such as Dautriche and Macret.
A related commode by Oeben in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu (n.72.DA.54) is illustrated in R.Stratmann-Döhler, Jean-François Oeben, Paris, 2002, p.54. This commode features very similar marquetry and has an identical arrangement of two small central drawers flanked by two doors. It is furthermore decorated with almost identical ormolu mounts, which include an apron mount depicting an acanthus-wrapped male mask surmounted by a stylised lambrequin.
An almost identical commode from the collection of the Earl of Normanton was sold in these Rooms, 16 July 1925, lot 37.
