A LOUIS XV/XVI TRANSITIONAL ORMOLU-MOUNTED CITRONNIER, STAINED SYCAMORE AND MARQUETRY TABLE EN CHIFFONNIÈRE circa 1770, stamped RVLC JME

With scattered age and construction cracks; not extensive. Veneer with minor chips, scattered age and construciton cracks and some slight buckling; mostly to undertier and not extensive. Scattered minor restorations to veneer. Refinished. Scattered old worm damage; almost exclusively to undertier. Mounts in good overall condition. In good 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.

Roger Vandercruse (1728-1799) was one of the most respected Parisian ébénistes of his day and was a member of an important furniture-making dynasty. His production was prolific and covered a wide variety of furniture including case pieces; he is, however, particularly celebrated for his production of small tables.

The tables produced by RVLC (as he is popularly referred to) are distinctive, and incorporate motifs which he used repeatedly such as the parquetry enclosing swirling acanthus on the present table. For an oval table veneered with an identical roundel against a striped background and attributed to RVLC, see Christie's London, July 7, 2011, lot 507. The same acanthus motif also appears on a number of bonheurs du jour; one probably purchased by Maria Feodorovna during her trip to France in 1782, see Clarisse Roinet, Roger Vandercruse dit La Croix, Paris, 2000, p. 51; on the platform stretcher of another in the Kraemer collection, see Connaissance des Arts, "French Cabinetmakers of the Eighteenth Century," 1963, p. 169, fig. 2; and on the door, top and stretcher of a third one in the Wrightsman Collection, see F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, Vol. I, New York, 1966, pp. 180-181. Two small tables of similar shape are illustrated Pierre Kjellberg, Le mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 2002, p. 788, figs. b & c. Along with this table, the two former were made by RVLC using large amounts of citronnier. He is known to be one of the first Parisian cabinet makers to veneer his pieces extensively with this light wood and to juxtapose its light color against the darker hues of other, often tinted, secondary woods in his inlays; a method that would become popular with main-stream ébénistes only in the 1820s and 30s.