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拍品專文
David Roentgen (1843-1807), maître in 1780, Ébéniste-mécanicien to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Johann Gottlieb Frost (1746-1814), maître in 1785.
François Rémond (c.1747-1812), maître doreur in 1744.
This elegant chair was produced using the finest mahogany embellished with superb ormolu-mounts; the richly carved tablet back decorated with Hermes’ caduceus is a perfect example of the bold Neoclassical style developed and employed by the German cabinet-maker David Roentgen following the establishment of his Paris operation in 1780. It is related to a group of chairs, designed by Roentgen and delivered around 1785 by the ébéniste Johann Gottlieb Frost, which are all close variants of this design.
The son of Abraham (1711-1793), David Roentgen was one of the greatest cabinet-makers of his time. He joined his father’s Neuwied workshop in 1757, eventually taking over in 1772 when he continued to develop the business in both the local German market and abroad. In 1774, Roentgen visited Paris and was exposed to the new Neoclassical style then evolving from the gôut grec of the preceding decade, which had an immense impact on the forms and decoration of the works he produced. It is thought that his association with the ciseleur-doreur François Rémond dates to this visit; Rémond supplied much ormolu to the Roentgen workshop in the ensuing years, including some of the spectacular mounts for the furniture Roentgen supplied to Catherine the Great. In 1779, Roentgen was awarded the titles of Ébéniste-mécanicien to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette (dual titles, separately awarded, for both King and Queen), to whom he supplied spectacular mechanical furniture; the only previous holder having been great ébéniste François Oeben. Roentgen was finally elected maître in 1780, allowing him to establish his own Parisian operation and he appointed Frost as his Parisian representative. In 1785 Roentgen withdrew from Paris and Frost announced that he had acquired Roentgen’s Paris business, however, a strong link with Neuwied was apparently maintained, and it is probable Frost continued to import significant amounts of stock from Neuwied before ceasing to trade in 1789.
A side chair of this design sold anonymously at Christie’s, London, 20 May 2015, and a pair of armchairs from the Collection of Juan de Beistegui sold Christie’s, Paris, 10 September 2018, lot 4. One armchair from this group, similarly mounted, but lacking the serpents to the back-rest while retaining the central staff, was sold anonymously at Christie’s, London 12 December 1996, lot 212, and subsequently included in the seminal 2012 Roentgen exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J.-M., Greber, Abraham und David Roentgen, Möbel für Europa, Starnberg, 1980, p. 255.
D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Français du XIXe siècle, Paris, 1989, p. 160.
D. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen, Munich, 1996, p. 235, no. 507.
W. Koeppe, exhibition catalogue, Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Oct. 2012 – Jan. 2013, p. 178, no. 53.
Johann Gottlieb Frost (1746-1814), maître in 1785.
François Rémond (c.1747-1812), maître doreur in 1744.
This elegant chair was produced using the finest mahogany embellished with superb ormolu-mounts; the richly carved tablet back decorated with Hermes’ caduceus is a perfect example of the bold Neoclassical style developed and employed by the German cabinet-maker David Roentgen following the establishment of his Paris operation in 1780. It is related to a group of chairs, designed by Roentgen and delivered around 1785 by the ébéniste Johann Gottlieb Frost, which are all close variants of this design.
The son of Abraham (1711-1793), David Roentgen was one of the greatest cabinet-makers of his time. He joined his father’s Neuwied workshop in 1757, eventually taking over in 1772 when he continued to develop the business in both the local German market and abroad. In 1774, Roentgen visited Paris and was exposed to the new Neoclassical style then evolving from the gôut grec of the preceding decade, which had an immense impact on the forms and decoration of the works he produced. It is thought that his association with the ciseleur-doreur François Rémond dates to this visit; Rémond supplied much ormolu to the Roentgen workshop in the ensuing years, including some of the spectacular mounts for the furniture Roentgen supplied to Catherine the Great. In 1779, Roentgen was awarded the titles of Ébéniste-mécanicien to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette (dual titles, separately awarded, for both King and Queen), to whom he supplied spectacular mechanical furniture; the only previous holder having been great ébéniste François Oeben. Roentgen was finally elected maître in 1780, allowing him to establish his own Parisian operation and he appointed Frost as his Parisian representative. In 1785 Roentgen withdrew from Paris and Frost announced that he had acquired Roentgen’s Paris business, however, a strong link with Neuwied was apparently maintained, and it is probable Frost continued to import significant amounts of stock from Neuwied before ceasing to trade in 1789.
A side chair of this design sold anonymously at Christie’s, London, 20 May 2015, and a pair of armchairs from the Collection of Juan de Beistegui sold Christie’s, Paris, 10 September 2018, lot 4. One armchair from this group, similarly mounted, but lacking the serpents to the back-rest while retaining the central staff, was sold anonymously at Christie’s, London 12 December 1996, lot 212, and subsequently included in the seminal 2012 Roentgen exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J.-M., Greber, Abraham und David Roentgen, Möbel für Europa, Starnberg, 1980, p. 255.
D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Français du XIXe siècle, Paris, 1989, p. 160.
D. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen, Munich, 1996, p. 235, no. 507.
W. Koeppe, exhibition catalogue, Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Oct. 2012 – Jan. 2013, p. 178, no. 53.