A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD, TULIPWOOD AND BOIS DE BOUT MARQUETRY BUREAU DE DAME
A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD, TULIPWOOD AND BOIS DE BOUT MARQUETRY BUREAU DE DAME

CIRCA 1750, STAMPED I DUBOIS JME

Details
A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD, TULIPWOOD AND BOIS DE BOUT MARQUETRY BUREAU DE DAME
Circa 1750, stamped I DUBOIS JME
The waved rectangular top inlaid with foliate sprays, the slightly bomb fall with flower and C-scroll-cast encadrements flanked by foliate C-scroll clasps and framing crossed foliate sprays, enclosing a fitted tulipwood and kingwood interior with green leather-lined writing-surface, seven serpentine-fronted mahogany-lined drawers and two pigeon-holes above a sliding well, the waved apron with central cabochon mount flanked by similar foliate sprays, the sides similarly inlaid and the back with parquetry decoration, on foliate-headed cabriole legs cast with C-scrolls and garlands trailing to sabots
37in. (96cm.) high, 36in. (93.5cm.) wide, 16in. (40.5cm.) deep

Lot Essay

Jacques Dubois, matre in 1742

Half-brother of the great marchand-bniste Nel Grard, Jacques Dubois (1694-1763) worked as an ouvrier libre in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine before becoming mitre, relatively late in his life in 1742.
This exceptional bureau en pente illustrates the best of Jacques Dubois' oeuvre. His varied production is characterized by sinuous lines, rich rococo mounts and a marquetry less dense than his competitors such as BVRB. As a maker of luxury furniture, it is likely that his production was sold principally through the marchand-merciers, such as Bertin or Migeon. The inventory following his death in 1764 shows a very large stock of bronze mounts, indicating that he retained exclusive use of his own model of mounts.

This type of lavishly mounted and ornately decorated bureau remained fashionable throughout the 1750's, as is indicated by the bureau of similar character supplied by Gilles Joubert for the Cabinet de retraite du Dauphin at Bellevue as late as 1759 (discussed in J.-N. Ronfort, '1759 Bellevue et le Secrtaire du Dauphin', L'Objet d'Art L'Estampille, November-December 1994, pp.105-23). A lacquer bureau de dame, also by Dubois and with almost identical mounts, was sold by Mme. Diane de Cordoba, Sotheby's Monaco, 24 November 1972, lot 89.

More from The Alexander Collection:French Furniture, Boxes & Porcelain

View All
View All