.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This magnificently sculptural commode en tombeau, decorated with opulent ormolu mounts against a sumptuous amaranth parquetry veneer, is part of a small group of related commodes that are attributed to either Etienne Doirat (d. 1732) or Noël Gérard (d. 1736). Its vigorous architectural form is inspired by designs of the great ornemanistes of the period, including Gilles-Marie Oppenordt, François-Antoine Vassé and Nicolas Pineau, and together with its lavish gilt-bronze decoration represents the successful convergence of the Régence and the emerging Rococo styles.
THE ATTRIBUTION TO ETIENNE DOIRAT
While this spectacular commode exhibits characteristics associated with the oeuvre of both Etienne Doirat and his contemporary Noël Gérard and it might well emerge that there was some form of collaboration, the following observations allow an attribution of the present example to Etienne Doirat.
The very dynamic bombé form of this commode with splayed supports - a phase in Doirat’s production described by J. Augarde as ‘son ultime chef-d’oeuvre - relates it closely to a commode stamped by Doirat in the Getty Museum (J. Augarde, 'Etienne Doirat, Menuisier en Ebène’, The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, vol. 13, 1985, p. 45, fig. 4; object no. 72.DA.66). Although often referred to as a commode en tombeau, in relation to Doirat’s oeuvre it is more accurately a console-commode, a type the ébéniste executed frequently (G. Wilson, Baroque and Régence, Los Angeles, 2008, p. 197). Furthermore, the three short drawers in the frieze are divided from the long drawers by a broad ormolu mount, thereby alleviating the overall form, a concept of separating the concave element from the convex similarly found on the above-mentioned Getty commode, as well as on a stamped commode originally sold ‘The L. Neumann Collection’, Christie’s, London, 2 July 1919, lot 202, illustrated Augarde, ibid., p. 46, fig. 7. The distinctive but understated marquetry with its ‘pointes de diamant’ trellis pattern is consistently used by Doirat, and can be compared to that on a stamped commode illustrated The Connoisseur, May 1954, vol. CXXXIII, no. 538, p. 265, fig. x. The use of contrasting parquetry veneers further offers a scintillating chiaroscuro effect. Similarly, the sculptural female and male-headed corner clasps, facing each other in a lively manner and representing the emerging Rococo style, can also be found in Doirat’s oeuvre. Related heads feature on the Getty commode and on a commode illustrated by Augarde, (ibid., p. 46, fig. 8), as well as on a commode sold ‘collection E. Kraemer’, Paris, 5-6 May 1913, lot 141 (Augarde, ibid., pp. 45-46, fig. 6). The Rococo shell and acanthus wrapped sabots are also very similar to those found on the Getty commode, while the spiral rosettes of the drawer handles are found on a number of Doirat commodes including one sold at Christie’s, Monaco, 15 December 1996, lot 92, and another, ‘la Collection Stein’, sold at Drouot, 30 March 1987, lot 220.
Although Doirat is renowned for being one of the first ébénistes to stamp his work, no stamp can be found on this commode. This might be explained by the fact that stamping was not obligatory until 1751 when the Parisian guild of menuisiers-ébénistes established a rule that a maker must stamp his furniture (Augarde, ibid., p. 37). Furthermore, Doirat did not consistently stamp his furniture until the latter part of his lengthy, over thirty year, career. An inventory of his stock taken after his demise in 1732 reveals that there were thirty-one finished commodes and thirteen under construction from a total of about two hundred items of furniture, and of this total figure only thirty-eight items were stamped. While taking into consideration that only finished items would be stamped, the number suggests that Doirat only stamped a part of his production, further underlining the possibility that this commode could have left his workshop unstamped. Doirat, it has been suggested, anticipated the oeuvre of Bernard II van Risamburgh (d. 1767), and in his finest furniture, to which this commode should certainly be counted, he was an equal to Charles Cressent (d. 1768) in his interpretation of the aesthetic rocaille.
While the above arguments speak for an attribution to Doirat there are also a number of similarities to Gérard’s oeuvre, that include, above all the close similarity in shape, proportion and decoration to a commode stamped ‘N.G’ - possibly for Noël Gérard - that was formerly in the collection of the French fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin and was photographed in her Parisian apartment in the rue Barbet-de-Jouy in circa 1960 (sold at Sotheby’s, Paris, 16 October 2007, lot 42; E. Schlumberger, ‘Au 16, rue Barbet-de-Jouy avec Jeanne Lanvin’, Connaissance des arts, no. 138, August 1963, pp. 62, 64). The ‘Boulle’ bearded masks, possibly depicting Hercules and featured on the sides of the Lanvin commode, are similar although not ‘the same’ as those on a bureau plat, stamped ‘NG’, formerly in the collection of the 6th Marquess of Bute, sold Christie’s, London, 3 July 1996, lot 50. The female mask on the apron of the present commode is after a Boulle model; similar masks are found on a toilet coffer stand at Blenheim Palace, and as escutcheons on the Cabinet au perroquet at Versailles (J.N. Ronfort, ed., André Charles Boulle 1642-1732 A New Style for Europe, exhibition catalogue, 30 October 2009-31 January 2010, Museum fur Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, p. 145, fig. 5; p. 193, no. 3). Gérard acquired some of the models for Boulle’s ormolu mounts at the latter’s posthumous sale, and Boulle-inspired mounts frequently appear on Gérard’s furniture. Furthermore, the female corner mounts decorating the back angles of this commode can also be found on two ebony bureau plats attributed to Gérard, one in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, and the other formerly with Galerie Aveline, Paris (illustrated A. Pradere, French Furniture Makers: the Art of the Ébéniste from Louis XIV to the Revolution, London, 1989, pp. 111, fig. 67; 113, fig. 71, 72). These bureau plats owe their attribution to comparison with one which is stamped 'N.G' in the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio (ibid., p. 112, fig. 68).
In conclusion, while it remains a possibility that the commode was a collaboration between the two ébénistes, it is most likely that Etienne Doirat both designed and made the commode. It is worth noting that Gérard, in addition to working as an ébéniste, was from 1725 on the owner of the Parisian Magasin Général, a vast retail store - and probably the first of its type in France - for objets de luxe. Objects were sold on commission enabling marchands and private individuals to sell at a pre-determined price (see J. Augarde, 'Noël Gérard (1685-1736) et le Magasin Général à l’Hôtel Jabach’, in Luxury Trades and Consumerism in Ancien Régime Paris, Aldershot, 1998, p. 181). It is therefore entirely feasible that Gérard may have acted as a marchand and in the case of the 'Lanvin commode' may have applied his own stamp when it was sold through the Magasin Général.
THE 'DRAGON' DRAWER HANDLES
The French 18th century fascination with oriental works of art is beautifully captured on the present commode by the sinuously formed serpent handles. This motif can be found also on carved console tables executed by Jean-Bernard-Honoré Turreau, dit Toro (d. 1731); a design for such a table by Toro is conserved in the Bibliothèque nationale de france (C. Demetrescu, Le Style Régence, Paris, 2003, p. 78, figs. 59-60). Comparable Chinoiserie dragon handles also make an appearance on Cressent’s extravagant commode in the Wallace Collection (illustrated). The motif also recalls the magot and pagode mounts on furniture by, the as yet unidentified, Mâitre aux Pagodes; the latter’s works include a commode with magnificent dragon corner mounts formerly in the collection of the Earl of Wilton, circa 1730, subsequently sold at Christie's. New York, 21 May 1996, lot 238, which was found also to be stamped 'NG' (P. Verlet, Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle français, Paris, 1963, p. 43; A. Pradere, 'Le Mâitre aux Pagodes un ébéniste mysterieux’, L’Objèt d’Art, no. 256, March 1992, no. 7). The dragon motif is also prevalent on Louis XV ormolu-mounted Chinese porcelain, such as on a pair of Chinese porcelain ewers with dragon handles now in the Louvre, and another, almost identical pair, sold at Christie's, London, 5 July 2012, lot 11.
THE ATTRIBUTION TO ETIENNE DOIRAT
While this spectacular commode exhibits characteristics associated with the oeuvre of both Etienne Doirat and his contemporary Noël Gérard and it might well emerge that there was some form of collaboration, the following observations allow an attribution of the present example to Etienne Doirat.
The very dynamic bombé form of this commode with splayed supports - a phase in Doirat’s production described by J. Augarde as ‘son ultime chef-d’oeuvre - relates it closely to a commode stamped by Doirat in the Getty Museum (J. Augarde, 'Etienne Doirat, Menuisier en Ebène’, The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, vol. 13, 1985, p. 45, fig. 4; object no. 72.DA.66). Although often referred to as a commode en tombeau, in relation to Doirat’s oeuvre it is more accurately a console-commode, a type the ébéniste executed frequently (G. Wilson, Baroque and Régence, Los Angeles, 2008, p. 197). Furthermore, the three short drawers in the frieze are divided from the long drawers by a broad ormolu mount, thereby alleviating the overall form, a concept of separating the concave element from the convex similarly found on the above-mentioned Getty commode, as well as on a stamped commode originally sold ‘The L. Neumann Collection’, Christie’s, London, 2 July 1919, lot 202, illustrated Augarde, ibid., p. 46, fig. 7. The distinctive but understated marquetry with its ‘pointes de diamant’ trellis pattern is consistently used by Doirat, and can be compared to that on a stamped commode illustrated The Connoisseur, May 1954, vol. CXXXIII, no. 538, p. 265, fig. x. The use of contrasting parquetry veneers further offers a scintillating chiaroscuro effect. Similarly, the sculptural female and male-headed corner clasps, facing each other in a lively manner and representing the emerging Rococo style, can also be found in Doirat’s oeuvre. Related heads feature on the Getty commode and on a commode illustrated by Augarde, (ibid., p. 46, fig. 8), as well as on a commode sold ‘collection E. Kraemer’, Paris, 5-6 May 1913, lot 141 (Augarde, ibid., pp. 45-46, fig. 6). The Rococo shell and acanthus wrapped sabots are also very similar to those found on the Getty commode, while the spiral rosettes of the drawer handles are found on a number of Doirat commodes including one sold at Christie’s, Monaco, 15 December 1996, lot 92, and another, ‘la Collection Stein’, sold at Drouot, 30 March 1987, lot 220.
Although Doirat is renowned for being one of the first ébénistes to stamp his work, no stamp can be found on this commode. This might be explained by the fact that stamping was not obligatory until 1751 when the Parisian guild of menuisiers-ébénistes established a rule that a maker must stamp his furniture (Augarde, ibid., p. 37). Furthermore, Doirat did not consistently stamp his furniture until the latter part of his lengthy, over thirty year, career. An inventory of his stock taken after his demise in 1732 reveals that there were thirty-one finished commodes and thirteen under construction from a total of about two hundred items of furniture, and of this total figure only thirty-eight items were stamped. While taking into consideration that only finished items would be stamped, the number suggests that Doirat only stamped a part of his production, further underlining the possibility that this commode could have left his workshop unstamped. Doirat, it has been suggested, anticipated the oeuvre of Bernard II van Risamburgh (d. 1767), and in his finest furniture, to which this commode should certainly be counted, he was an equal to Charles Cressent (d. 1768) in his interpretation of the aesthetic rocaille.
While the above arguments speak for an attribution to Doirat there are also a number of similarities to Gérard’s oeuvre, that include, above all the close similarity in shape, proportion and decoration to a commode stamped ‘N.G’ - possibly for Noël Gérard - that was formerly in the collection of the French fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin and was photographed in her Parisian apartment in the rue Barbet-de-Jouy in circa 1960 (sold at Sotheby’s, Paris, 16 October 2007, lot 42; E. Schlumberger, ‘Au 16, rue Barbet-de-Jouy avec Jeanne Lanvin’, Connaissance des arts, no. 138, August 1963, pp. 62, 64). The ‘Boulle’ bearded masks, possibly depicting Hercules and featured on the sides of the Lanvin commode, are similar although not ‘the same’ as those on a bureau plat, stamped ‘NG’, formerly in the collection of the 6th Marquess of Bute, sold Christie’s, London, 3 July 1996, lot 50. The female mask on the apron of the present commode is after a Boulle model; similar masks are found on a toilet coffer stand at Blenheim Palace, and as escutcheons on the Cabinet au perroquet at Versailles (J.N. Ronfort, ed., André Charles Boulle 1642-1732 A New Style for Europe, exhibition catalogue, 30 October 2009-31 January 2010, Museum fur Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, p. 145, fig. 5; p. 193, no. 3). Gérard acquired some of the models for Boulle’s ormolu mounts at the latter’s posthumous sale, and Boulle-inspired mounts frequently appear on Gérard’s furniture. Furthermore, the female corner mounts decorating the back angles of this commode can also be found on two ebony bureau plats attributed to Gérard, one in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, and the other formerly with Galerie Aveline, Paris (illustrated A. Pradere, French Furniture Makers: the Art of the Ébéniste from Louis XIV to the Revolution, London, 1989, pp. 111, fig. 67; 113, fig. 71, 72). These bureau plats owe their attribution to comparison with one which is stamped 'N.G' in the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio (ibid., p. 112, fig. 68).
In conclusion, while it remains a possibility that the commode was a collaboration between the two ébénistes, it is most likely that Etienne Doirat both designed and made the commode. It is worth noting that Gérard, in addition to working as an ébéniste, was from 1725 on the owner of the Parisian Magasin Général, a vast retail store - and probably the first of its type in France - for objets de luxe. Objects were sold on commission enabling marchands and private individuals to sell at a pre-determined price (see J. Augarde, 'Noël Gérard (1685-1736) et le Magasin Général à l’Hôtel Jabach’, in Luxury Trades and Consumerism in Ancien Régime Paris, Aldershot, 1998, p. 181). It is therefore entirely feasible that Gérard may have acted as a marchand and in the case of the 'Lanvin commode' may have applied his own stamp when it was sold through the Magasin Général.
THE 'DRAGON' DRAWER HANDLES
The French 18th century fascination with oriental works of art is beautifully captured on the present commode by the sinuously formed serpent handles. This motif can be found also on carved console tables executed by Jean-Bernard-Honoré Turreau, dit Toro (d. 1731); a design for such a table by Toro is conserved in the Bibliothèque nationale de france (C. Demetrescu, Le Style Régence, Paris, 2003, p. 78, figs. 59-60). Comparable Chinoiserie dragon handles also make an appearance on Cressent’s extravagant commode in the Wallace Collection (illustrated). The motif also recalls the magot and pagode mounts on furniture by, the as yet unidentified, Mâitre aux Pagodes; the latter’s works include a commode with magnificent dragon corner mounts formerly in the collection of the Earl of Wilton, circa 1730, subsequently sold at Christie's. New York, 21 May 1996, lot 238, which was found also to be stamped 'NG' (P. Verlet, Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle français, Paris, 1963, p. 43; A. Pradere, 'Le Mâitre aux Pagodes un ébéniste mysterieux’, L’Objèt d’Art, no. 256, March 1992, no. 7). The dragon motif is also prevalent on Louis XV ormolu-mounted Chinese porcelain, such as on a pair of Chinese porcelain ewers with dragon handles now in the Louvre, and another, almost identical pair, sold at Christie's, London, 5 July 2012, lot 11.