A rosewood and gilt bronze sideboard, with a curved front and sides, opening to two leaves (locked, no verification of the presence of the medallion drawers could be made), decorated with four oval medallions in the antique style on a green painted background in a gilt bronze surround decorated with medals, garlands, foliage, mascaron and ram heads; green marble top; (accidents and restorations). Based on the medallion cabinet delivered by Antoine Robert Gaudreaus to the Château de Versailles in 1739. Louis XV style, circa 1870-1880. H. 97 cm, W. 175 cm, D. 69 cm One of the most famous pieces of 18th-century furniture, the medaillier designed by the Slotdz brothers and made by Gaudreaus, was delivered in 1738 for the cabinet des médailles in Versailles. It was intended to house the King's metal history. As an icon of 18th-century French furniture, this medallion cabinet was copied many times in the course of the 19th century, notably by the cabinetmaker Sormani. An example by Sormani was recently sold in Paris by Auction Art, on March 25, 2014, lot 87. Another commode signed Dasson 1870 was sold by Christie's in London on October 29, 1998, lot 305. We also know that Richard Seymour-Conway (1800-1870), Richard Wallace's father, had this model copied in Paris between 1850 and 1870, along with a dozen other pieces of furniture (Camille Mestdagh, Les copies à l'ère des premières expositions universelles, un XVIIIe qui continue de vivre? Bulletin du Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles, 2016). This chest of drawers can be found on the second floor of his hotel at 2 rue Lafitte, in a salon overlooking the street (P. Hughes, The Wallace collection catalog of furniture, III, p. 1546 (ill.)). This observation shows that a number of copies were made quite early for this type of practice, and in any case well before 1880.