THE DESIGN ATTRIBUTED TO PERCIER AND FONTAINE, CIRCA 1804-1814

When this lock-plate was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in 1978, the catalogue described an impressive reputed provenance: "This powerfully composed object is said to have ornamented the door of Napoleon's office in the Palais des Tuileries." Although it will likely never be possible to determine the precise door for which the lock-plate was originally designed, the museum’s cataloguing nonetheless reflects the close association that can be made between it and the inventions of Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (1764-1838 and 1762-1853), who refurbished the Tuileries for Napoleon in the new and avant-garde Empire style. This is illustrated especially by a group of manuscript drawings from the studio of Pierre Fontaine, recently offered in Paris, including several plans for door furniture of similar design. See the two pairs of drawings from the firm of Fontaine, sold Thierry de Maigret, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 21 November 2025, lots 120-121, and the single drawing from the firm of Percier and Fontaine, lot 152.