An important Louis XVI ormolu-mounted mahogany commode circa 1785, attributed to Jean-Henri Riesener

the later rectangular white marble top of slightly breakfront outline with canted corners above a border of ormolu egg-and-dart, the frieze with three drawers above two long drawers sans traverse,  the canted corners fitted at the top and bottom with scrolled ormolu mounts incorporating acanthus leaves and beads, the front outlined with ormolu borders cast with leaf tips and beading and marked with rosettes, the slightly curved sides similarly mounted, raised on a plinth base outlined with an ormolu border and raised on square tapered legs with ormolu foliate sabots.

Collection of Simone Berriau, sold in Paris, May 28, 1936, lot 67

J. Nicolay, l'art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes françaises au XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1956, illustrated p. 390, fig. C.

In overall very good condition. The commode is quite rare and of unusual and very useful size. Excellent choice of veneer. The ormolu mounts very well chased and giled, however less bright than in the catalogue illustration. The mahogany surfaces are less greyish red and more attractive than in the catalogue illustration. Minor marks and small chips to the marble top, which is a later replacement. The gilding of the ormolu moulded band between the top frieze drawers and lower large drawers is greatly rubbed. Restored vertical hairline cracks to the sides some which have slightly opened. Chips to the veneer behind the right handle of the upper long drawer, with a further abrasion the the handle along the right handle of the lower drawer, both visible from the catalogue illustration. There is a small light surface crack to the veneer along the lower side of the commode. There is a small restoration to the front left foot, with some small chips. With general small marks and surface abrasions to the mahogany surfaces consistent with age and use. The interior in very good condition. The mounts are loose on all the feet. The mounts would benefit from a light cleaning generally.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

JEAN-HENRI RIESENER 1734-1806, maître in 1768, supplier to the Royal garde meuble 1774-1785

Riesener was unquestionably the finest cabinetmaker working in Paris during the Louis XVI period.  Born in Germany (Westphalia), by the mid 1750s he was apprenticed in the workshop of his countryman Jean-François Oeben who died, relatively young, in 1763.  Riesener took over the direction of the workshop in 1765 and eventually married Oeben's widow in 1767.  He was received master in 1768 and lost no time in capturing royal patronage.  He completed the manufacture of Oeben's celebrated bureau du roi, and, through Joubert, he started supplying furniture to the Garde Meuble after 1771.  In 1774 Joubert relinquished his title and Riesener was formally appointed ébéniste du Roi.

For the next decade, Riesener reigned supreme and enjoyed extensive royal patronage.  The extent of the commissions he received was such that he was forced to sub-contract, a common practice which had been exercised by both his predecessors, Joubert and Gaudreau.  This is not to suggest that commissions were executed by inferior craftsmen, indeed Adam Weisweiler himself is recorded as having executed pieces sub-contracted to him by Riesener.  Royal commissions began to dwindle after 1785 and Riesener struggled throughout the waning years of the ancien régime until he retired in 1800.

This commode is identical to another, also unstamped, in the Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, illustrated, Bill G.B. Pallot & Nicolas Sainte Fare Garnot, Le mobilier français du musée Jacquemart-André, Dijon, 2006, no. 57, illustrated pp. 192-193.  The imposing residence built by Nélie Jacquemart and her husband Édouard André on the Boulevard Haussmann houses the extensive collection which they formed at the end of the 19th century.  Their Riesener commode, which appears in a photograph of the Salon des Tapisseries taken circa 1900, was acquired from the dealer Seligmann In London in 1902.

The Jacquemart-André commode is unreservedly attributed to Riesener.  It, and the present commode, bear all the characteristics and hallmarks of Riesener's production during the period 1775-1785.  The overall design and use of fine plum pudding mahogany timbers are echoed in a number of pieces produced by Riesener at the time.  A mahogany commode, fitted with identical scrolled ormolu corner mounts, formerly in the Chateau de la Ménaudière, was sold, Sotheby's, Monaco, December 3, 1994, lot 363, and can also be compared with a commode delivered in 1784 by Riesener for the chambre de la reine at Versailles, sold, Sotheby's, Monaco, June 22, 1991, lot 536). See also a slightly larger mahogany commode of virtually identical overall design, on identically shaped tapered legs, sold, Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, April 2, 1987; this commode is also fitted with an identical apron mount.

THE ORMOLU MOUNTS

In his capacity as ébéniste du Roi, Riesener was exempt from the guild regulations that prohibited ébénistes from casting or chasing their own mounts.  He employed his own bronze workers amongst the most notable of whom was the gilder François Rémond (1747-1812) who more than likely started his apprenticeship with Riesener in 1763; he became master in 1774.

Of particular interest are the scrolled ormolu mounts and pendant foliate husks fitted  to the upper part of the canted corners, these are identical to the corner mounts on a commode delivered for the salon des paires of the Comtesse d'Artois at Versailles in 1779.  This commode is also of the same overall design with a marble top with canted forecorners, three frieze drawers, two deep drawers sans traverse and slightly curved sides; it is raised on a similarly outset ormolu-mounted plinth base; the two deep drawers are outlined with borders of identical shape to those on the present commode marked at each corner with rosettes (see, D. Meyer, Versailles Furniture of the Royal Palace, Vol. I, Dijon, 2002, no. 18, pp. 74-75).  These corners mounts are again found on a commode from Louis XVI's cabinet de retraite at Fontainebleau, later in his Library at Versailles, delivered in 1778 (illustrated, Meyer, op. cit. no. 36, pp. 136-137), and again on a pair of corner cupboards for Louis XVI's salon des jeux at Versailles in 1775 (illustrated, ibid. no. 16, pp. 70-71).  The preceding pieces are all veneered in either trellis parquetry or a combination of pictorial marquetry with trellis parquetry.  A commode supplied in 1780 by Riesener for the second cabinet intérieur of Marie  Antoinette at Compiègne incorporates a central detailed marquetry trophy flanked by plain panels of bois satiné veneer. This commode also is fitted with identical scrolled ormolu corners mounts and pendant foliate husks (illustrated, A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, Paris, 1989, p. 381).  The same corner mount, slightly modified, was used three years later by Riesener on a suite of three pieces commissioned in 1783 by Marie-Antoinette for her cabinet intérieur at Versailles.  This lavish suite with Japanese lacquer veneers incorporates these corner mounts which have been embellished with crossed finely chased floral garlands (illustrated, Grosheide, Koeppe & Rieder, European Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Haven, 2006, pp. 198-201).  The lower part of the secrétaire is outlined with ormolu borders which follow the same design as the borders on the present commode and is marked with identical ormolu rosettes and the plinth base is fitted with an identical ormolu border.

The apron mount on this commode is identical to one on a commode and secrétaire now in the Frick Collection, supplied for Queen Marie Antoinette, later in the collection of the Duke of Hamilton, (illustrated, T. Dell, Furniture in the Frick Collection, Vol. VI, Princeton, 1992, pp. 71-91).  As with the lacquer secrétaire delivered for the Queen, mentioned above, the lower part is fitted with ormolu borders of identical design to those on the present commode and the plinth is fitted with an identical ormolu border.