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A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD, TULIPWOOD, AMARANTH, MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID CHINESE LACQUER AND JAPANNED SECRETAIRE A ABATTANT

BY PIERRE-HARRY MEWESEN, LATE 18TH CENTURY

Details

A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD, TULIPWOOD, AMARANTH, MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID CHINESE LACQUER AND JAPANNED SECRETAIRE A ABATTANT
BY PIERRE-HARRY MEWESEN, LATE 18TH CENTURY
The grey Saint Anne marble top with canted angles, over a guilloche-mounted frieze drawer and fall enclosing a black leather writing surface, six lacquer-fronted drawers and pigeon holes, over a pair of doors enclosing a shelf and safe box, stamped P.H. MEWESEN and JME
54 ¼ in. (138 cm.) high; 38 ½ in. (98 cm.) wide; 17 in. (43 cm.) deep

Provenance

Rodolphe-Ferdinand Grand, Paris.
Château d’Hauteville, since 1808.

Literature

Listed in the 1798 inventory of Rodolphe-Ferdinand Grand for 118 Rue Neuve-des-Capucines in Paris.
Listed in the 1808-1818 inventory of Château d’Hauteville, after Daniel Grand d'Hauteville renovated the château.
F. Grand d’Hauteville, Le Château d’Hauteville, Lausanne, 1932, pp. 90 and 132.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

Pierre-Harry Mewesen, Maître Ébéniste in 1766.

Originally from Scandinavia, Pierre Harry Mewesen worked in Paris and produced high quality furniture in the Louis XV style and more commonly transitional and Louis XVI pieces including commodes, bureaux, secretaires and encoignures. Many examples of his work are decorated with marquetry depicting flowers, musical instruments and trophies and his mounts are usually restrained and discreet. Some of his rarer pieces include lacquer and the present secretaire (as well as lot 23, the commode) demonstrate less common use of lacquer depicting Oriental landscapes.

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