A pair of French ormolu-mounted kingwood vitrines
Lot 38THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 

A pair of French ormolu-mounted kingwood vitrines

BY JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER, CIRCA 1890

Price Realised

GBP 38,240

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A pair of French ormolu-mounted kingwood vitrines
By Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener, Circa 1890
Each surmounted by a brèche d'Alep marble top, the carcass stamped twice E. ZWIENER, the front centred by a bevelled glazed door, flanked to each side by a conforming panel, the mirrored interior fitted with one adjustable glazed shelf, above a serpentine apron, on four scroll feet
59 in. (150 cm.) high; 28¼ in. (71.5 cm.) wide; 14¼ in. (36 cm.) deep (2)

Specialist note

Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener was born in Herdon, Germany, in 1849. He moved to Paris and established his workshop at 12, rue de la Roquette and reportedely worked from that address between 1880 and 1895.
He produced the very finest furniture replicating articles from the Garde-Meuble National of France. His work appears to be mainly in the Louis XV rococo manner, inset with fine marquetry, Vernis Martin panels and encrusted with gilt-bronze mounts, all to the highest standards of manufacture. However, the furniture that he created was in a very, florid and elaborate Louis XV style.
Exhibiting at the Paris Exposition Universelle, in 1889, he was given a gold medal. The jury reported 'dès ses débuts à une Exposition universelle, [il] s'est mis au premier rang par la richesse, la hardiesse et le fini de ses meubles incrustés de bronze et fort habilement marquetés'.