Furniture & Works of Art
Six to eight cataloged auctions each year
While exceptional pieces still hold a prominent place in the classic furniture market, collectors today are increasingly open to a wider variety of items. Their interest in and growing knowledge of antique furniture have accelerated since the rise of dedicated exhibitions and events organized by museums and institutions, such as the recent reopening at the Louvre of some thirty galleries devoted to works of art from Louis XIV to Marie Antoinette. The historical value of pieces has also become fundamental. Royal provenance, a commission for a château or a princely residence, a direct connection to a museum piece, or a complete history detailing the stages of delivery—all of this information enriches a piece of furniture’s pedigree.
A Word from the Expert
“In terms of cultural heritage and even financial value, 18th-century furniture benefits from a century of production and holds hidden treasures. Scientific research on the subject has also advanced considerably. The books and publications that have appeared in recent years allow us to better understand and catalog this furniture. Today, it is essential to be able to compare this new knowledge with the pieces themselves, in order to restore the value of these pieces of furniture, which are still not given the recognition they deserve...”
Contacts
Marc Guyot
marc.guyot@ader-paris.fr
Ekaterina Gorshkova
egorshkova@ader-paris.fr
3 Rue Favart, 75002 Paris
Phone: +33 (0)1 53 40 77 10
Upcoming Sales
Successful Auctions
Chest of drawers with sticks and scraps of flowers in satin and amaranth wood, with an eventful shape on the front and sides, opening with three drawers, top in Breche d'Aleppo marble resting on curved uprights with arched feet; beautiful ornamentation of gilded bronzes marked with the crowned c (1745-1749); (the bottom of the piece of furniture replaced at a later date). By Charles Cressent (1685-1768). Louis XV period, circa 1730. H: 89 cm, W: 129 cm, D: 66.5 cm Bibliography: A. Pradère, Charles Cressent, Dijon, 2003, cat. no. 140, p. 284 (ill.). Provenance: Ancienne galerie Fabre, Paris. In the very precise nomenclature established by the cabinetmaker's monograph, Alexandre Pradère describes this model as a chest of drawers with sticks and falling flowers. It corresponds to a variant of the famous palm chest of drawers. The prototype of this chest of drawers and the oldest example seems to be the chest of drawers of the old Machault d'Arnouville collection (château de Thoiry). Our chest of drawers belongs to this series dating from the 1730s (Pradère, op. cit., p. 165) and whose corners are decorated with mosaic scraps. The crossbow handles of the upper drawer are, like the Machault chest of drawers and all the furniture in this group (notably those from the former Eugène Kraemer collection sold in 1913 and then sold at Christie's in London on 4 December 2014, lot 131, see illustration), treated independently of the crozier, unlike the later examples in the second group for which they are an extension of the crosier. The presence of the crowned C must obviously be explained by a marketing between 1745 and 1749.
Result
185,600 EUR
Secrétaire à abattant en vernis parisien, ouvrant à un tiroir, deux vantaux et un abattant découvrant six tiroirs et quatre compartiments, le dessus de marbre brèche verte (restauré) reposant sur des montants pincés terminés par de petits pieds cambrés ; ornementation de bronzes dorés ; (petits accidents). Estampille de François Rubestuck et JME, ébéniste reçu maître en 1766. Époque Louis XV H. 145 cm, L : 97 cm, P : 37 cm Bibliographie : J. Nicolay, L'art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1956, p. 722, fig. E. Un secrétaire très proche est illustré dans P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1998, p. 746.
Result
25,600 EUR
Writing table in burr wood and stained wood marquetry with flower decoration, opening to a flap above revealing a brass and blue silk cupboard, the reverse side of the flap forming a writing tablet (leather refinished), with a drawer on the side, resting on cambered legs decorated with foliage frieze on a light wood background (with a brace originally); (accidents and restorations) Attributed to Jean-François Hache. Louis XV period, circa 1760. H : 70 cm, W : 43 cm, D : 26,6 cm A comparable table stamped Hache Fils in Grenoble (sale Paris, Audap, Godeau, Solanet, June 12, 1992 ; illustrated in P. et F. Rouge, Le Génie des Hache, Dijon, 2005, p. 420) presents a similar structure and decoration, opening on the top and with a drawer on the side.
Result
53,760 EUR
Pair of two-branch gilded bronze light arms, decorated with a bacchante in caryatid, foliage and vine branches; (pierced for electricity, small misses at the end at foliage level). Possibly after a model by Robert Joseph Auguste (1723-1805). Louis XVI period. H. 38 cm Although no bronzemaker is known to have cast, chased and gilded this pair of sconces, we do have an interesting lead on the model's inventor. In the sale of the famous collector Augustin Blondel de Gagny (Paris, December 10-24, 1776, lot 1033), we find the following mention: "Une paire de bras à trois branches de bronze doré, très bien exécutée, & de la composition de M. Auguste; le corps de chaque bras représente un terme de femme 510 livres". A similar pair is now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Result
20,480 EUR
Important ormolu chandelier with eight lights and decoration of Victories holding arms, foliage, mascarons and mantling, surmounted by a figure of Renommée with a standard with the arms of France. In the taste of André Charles Boulle. Louis XV style, 19th century. H. 175 cm, L. 115 cm
Result
24,320 EUR
Large gilt bronze clock made from a cardboard clock signed Osmond, decorated with scrolls, rosettes and garlands of foliage, flowers and fruit; the clock surmounted by a group representing a bacchanal and resting on a base with sphinx figures and circular feet (the group and the base brought back in the 19th century). The dial and the movement signed by Charles Le Roy in Paris, clockmaker The bronze signed by Robert Osmond (at the back of the central part). Louis XVI period (small restorations). The base and the upper part being a complement of the 19th century. H. 70 cm, W. 70 cm, D. 25 cm A similar clock (before transformation) is now kept at the Mobilier Nationale in Paris. It is also known that the merchant Simon Philippe Poirier delivered an identical model in 1777 to the Count of Artois for the Palais du Temple.
Result
28,160 EUR
Important secrétaire de pente en marqueterie de cubes dans des encadrements d'amarante (toutes faces), de forme mouvementée à plateforme sur le dessus, ouvrant à huit tiroirs et deux abattants contenant quatre tiroirs, un petit abattant formant coffre simulant deux tiroirs et deux compartiments. Estampille de Pierre Migeon et JME. Époque Louis XV. H. 105 cm, L. 157 cm, P. 60 cm Provenance : - Probablement Pierre François Doublet de Bandeville (1705-1761), président au Parlement de Paris, dans la bibliothèque de son hôtel du quai Malaquais à Paris. - Vente Paris, le 29 juin 1938, lot 90. - Ancienne collection du comte Jacques de Vienne (né en 1874), vente Londres, Christie's, 17 juin 1987, lot 72. - Galerie Gismondi. - Collection particulière. Bibliographie : - J. Nicolay, L'art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1956, p. 326. - Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle français, Paris, Hachette, 1963, p. 96. - P. Kjellberg, Le mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1998, p. 577. - S. Mouquin, Pierre IV Migeon, Paris, 2001, p. 63-65. Exposition : Grands ébénistes et menuisiers parisiens du XVIIIe siècle, cat. exp., Paris, 1955, n°205 bis. La provenance ancienne de ce meuble repose sur la découverte par Patrick Leperlier d'une mention dans l'inventaire après décès du Président de Bandeville en 1761 : " un secrétaire de près de cinq pieds de large, placqué de palissandre et autres bois des Indes, dans le goût satiné, dont le dessus s'ouvre en deux parties, et la face du devant à huit tiroirs, prisé cent cinquante livres ". Archives ANMC, LXXVI, 378, le 27 mars 1761. La correspondance des dimensions, du nombre de tiroirs et la grande rareté des secrétaires à abattant en deux parties rend parfaitement plausible ce rapprochement. On sait par ailleurs que Pierre François de Bandeville était client de Pierre IV Migeon ; il livra notamment pour lui sur une " table à pupitre noir " et " un secrétaire avec son armoire d'amarante dessous " (Archives de Paris, cité par Mouquin, op. cit., p. 129, note 226).
Result
99,840 EUR
White marble and gilt bronze tempietto-shaped revolving circle clock, circular in shape, the entablature decorated with flowers and laurel leaves, supported by four fluted columns surrounding a figure of Diana the Huntress, topped by an openwork dome containing the movement, itself topped by the dial, the time indicated by a winged child holding an arrow; (small accidents). The dial is signed by Festeau le Jeune. Louis XVI period. H. 63 cm, L. 28 cm
Result
17,280 EUR
Two half-moon marquetry and gilt bronze commodes, opening with two drawers and two leaves, with marquetry decoration of vase, ewer and basket of flowers and fruits flanked by panels with trellises and rosettes, very rich gilt bronze ornamentation with figures of warriors, mask of Apollo, children-cupidon, vestals in caryatid and trophies of arms; veined white marble top. Based on the model delivered for Louis XVI's Versailles bedroom in 1775. Louis XVI style. H. 97 cm, W. 200 cm, D. 80 cm The original model of these commodes was commissioned from cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener (supplier to the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne) for Louis XVI's Versailles bedroom in 1775. Originally decorated with a marquetry panel depicting Minerva and two medallions bearing the king's and queen's numerals, this piece of furniture was dedicated to the young king. It was replaced during the Revolution by a country trophy (still in place). The Duc d'Aumale acquired this piece of furniture at the sale of Louis-Philippe's possessions in 1857. Today, it remains in the Château de Chantilly. A pair of identical commodes was recently sold by Mes Beaussant-Lefèvre in Paris, on April 18, 2016, lot 84.
Result
38,400 EUR