Lot 313
  • 313

A German Neoclassical ormolu-mounted mahogany fauteuil circa 1785, attributed to David Roentgen

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
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Description

  • mahogany, bronze
  • height 35 in.; width 23 in.; depth 18 in.
  • 89 cm; 58.5 cm; 46 cm

Provenance

Marquise de Vibraye

Bernard Steinitz, Paris, 1987

Literature

Christian Baulez, L'Estampille L'Objet d'Art, September, 1996, pp. 97-118

Christian Baulez, Versailles: deux siècles d'histoire de l'art, Versailles, 2007, p. 396, fig. 17.  

Condition

Minor scattered signs of old worm damage. Ormolu pearl-form mount on apron in front detached in two places. Ormolu with some rubbing. In very good overall condition.
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.

Catalogue Note

This model is attributed to David Roentgen by Dietrich Fabian (see Dietrich Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen, Bad Neustadt, 1996, p. 234, fig. 507/507A). An almost identical chair also attributed to Roentgen was sold Christie's London, December 12, 1996, lot 212. That chair however, is lacking the coiling serpent motif of the back. Other subtle differences are the added twisted ormolu molding around Roentgen's chair's seat rail and the difference between the circular ormolu mount crowning the central splat of the back. Roentgen's operations in Paris are known to have been run by his representative Johann Gottlieb Frost from 1779. Frost, who was elected maître in 1785, opened his own shop on rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs and began producing his own pieces, sometimes in collaboration with the ciseleur-doreur François Rémond, who supplied ormolu mounts to Frost between 1782 and 1789. Therefore, it is possible that the piece offered here was either produced by Roentgen in Neuwied and was sold by Frost in Paris, or that it was made by Frost in France after Roentgen's design.