A gilt-bronze-mounted ebony veneered and mahogany console table by Jacob D. R. Meslée, the gilt-bronze mounts attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), Empire, circa 1803-09

with a rectangular bleu turquin marble top above a recessed ebony veneered frieze with a band of amphora vases decorated with an anthiemion suspending ribbon-tied swags of flowerheads with tasselled acorns and surmounted by flower and foliate medallions each with a profile classical bust depicting a Satyr, Dionysos, Jupiter, Juno and Apollo with an anthemion at each side, each end with a ribbon-tied wreath enclosing a stylised lyre with drapery, on pilaster supports with lotus leaf cast headers, the front supports mounted with Cupid in a cloak holding aloft a laurel wreath within stylised foliage and flowerheads surmounted by an anthemion, each side similarly mounted to the front, the left side with the mask of Artemis amongst a quiver, arrow and hunting horn, the other side with a female mask above ribbon-tied laurel sprays on a rectangular platform stretcher and block front feet, the underside of the frieze with the marque au fer R15, with a restorer's handwritten pencil inscription inside the frieze`Alois Pock Tischlermeister Priling/Peiling.., Ru...ann 15/11. 1919. Lonn...'; the top of the left side beneath the marble with the pencil inscription Rosny; marble top restored; minor alterations to the carcass of the top 

Almost certainly delivered to Marie-Caroline, Duchesse de Berry (1798-1870), in around 1821 by Jacob-Desmalter for the Château de Rosny, Rosny-sur-Seine, Yvelines, near Paris for the Salon des Princes.
Transferred post 1830 to her Schloss Brunsee, Graz, Austria.
Thence by descent to the Lucchesi–Palli family.
Property of a European Nobleman.

In overall good condition. Exceptional quality casting and chasing of the mounts and beautiful mahogany veneers. The marble top has been broken in the past and has been restored but it would benefit from some attention as along the front edge there is some dark grey infill which protrudes slightly. The top also has a large square stain where perhaps there was formerly an object approx 30cm x 30cm, together with other scratches and stains and minor chips and would benefit from a light clean. There appears to be an artificial stain on the back together with some water staining internally inside the frieze. There are some very fine age cracks in the ebony veneer but these are not too noticeable. The flame mahogany veneer has a very attractive patina with some very minor splits and chips generally and some minor staining, scratches and scuffing to the platform base consistent with normal usage. There are also some very minor patches to the veneer eg to the top of the front frieze but these have been well executed and are hardly noticeable. There are some steel knobs inside the frieze securing the legs. As stated in the catalogue the upper carcass has been altered by a restorer who has signed in the back left corner. The alterations have possibly been made to create a concealed space which could act as a safe for possessions; this has not altered the external appearance at all.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Comparative Literature:
Pierre Arizzoli-Clémentel and Jean-Pierre Samoyault, Le Mobilier de Versailles, chefs-d’oeuvre du XIXe siècle, Dijon, 2009,  p. 60, figs.1 & 2, pp. 114-115.
Patrick Guibal, Rosny au Temps de La Duchesse de Berry, in exhib. cat, Entre Cour et Jardin, Marie-Caroline, Duchesse de Berry, Musée de l'îIe-de-France, Sceaux, 200, pp. 49-58 and p. 129, plate 60.
Jean-Pierre Samoyault, Mobilier Français Consulat et Empire, 2009, Paris, p. 90, fig. 158 and p.196, fig. 334.
Odile Nouvel-Kammerer, Exhibition Catalogue, Symbols of Power, Napoleon and the Art of the Empire Style, 1800-1815, Paris, 2007.                                                                                                       

This magnificent console table of impressive proportions together with the pair (see lot ..) are amongst the most outstanding examples of console tables by Jacob-Desmalter dating to the early years of the 19^th century. Although not recorded in the inventories of the firm, they were almost certainly supplied soon after 1821, (when the pair are recorded as having been supplied), to Marie-Caroline, the Duchesse de Berry for her favourite residence the château de Rosny, as it bears the marque au fer R 15 for Rosny, as does the pair.

According to Samoyault, op. cit., p. 210, these type of consoles à pilastres in mahogany, when they were destined to be placed in a salon,  took on a monumental aspect with pilasters of strong proportions enhanced with gilt-bronzes and often had a mirrored back, as on the offered example. The consistency in the superlative quality of this console table and the previous pair together with stylistic similarities with other console tables and mounted furniture by Jacob-Desmalter leads to the conclusion that although the offered table is not stamped by Jacob-Desmalter, it is most certainly by this firm of ébénistes with bronzes by Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843). The choice of the finest timbers such as finely figured mahogany together with use of ebony as a backdrop to offset the exceptionally detailed almost jewel-like gilt-bronze mounts indicate that it must have been made as an Imperial or aristocratic commission. Its decorative elements with acanthus, anthemions, amphora vases, swags and neo-classical medallions all derive from Antique motifs inspired by the Receuil de decorations intérieures by Charles Percier and Pierre-François Léonard Fontaine first printed in 1801, who promulgated the Empire style with the intention of glorifying the Napoleonic regime, see for example a drawing by Percier and Fontaine  from their Receuil, for the boudoir of Mme. M, illustrated in plate 60.

Samoyault, op. cit., p. 90, fig. 158, illustrates a commode by Jacob-Desmalter with a gilt-bronze band of stylised amphora vases and anthemions similar in conception to those on the offered console table on an ebony ground  which was delivered in 1804 to the Empress Josephine at the Palace of Fontainebleau and placed in her bedroom, (Mobilier National, Paris). The decorative device on the front supports of scrolling acanthus, anthemions and flowerheads can be seen on the stiles of an ebony commode by Jacob-Desmalter illustrated by Samoyault, op. cit., p.196, fig. 334, after a design by Percier and Fontaine for le grand cabinet of the Emperor at the Tuileries, circa 1811-1813, now at the Château of Versailles, Paris.

The decorative elements in gilt-bronze on this console table with ribbon-tied floral swags and medallions can be seen on a green granite chimneypiece, circa 1805, stamped Thomire à Paris, from the collection of Général Le Marois, Rue de Grammont, Paris, then the Collection of the Duc de Caraman, Château de Lonray, sold  on 3^rd November 2005, from the Collections of Lily and Edmond Safra, Volume II, lot 175, for $452,800, reproduced here in fig. 1. An identical chimneypiece to the aforementioned by Thomire was installed in the principal salon of the Empress' apartments at the Château de Compiègne, a room which was decorated by Percier and Fontaine. Another chimneypiece with the same frieze of garlands and torchères was delivered in 1804 for the salon of Prince Eugène de Beauharnais in his hôtel in the rue de Lille in Paris, now the German Embassy. Furthermore, a console table with a very similar frieze and with the label of the marchand -mercier Martin Eloy Lingereux was formerly in the collection of the Princes Esterhàzy, now is in the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts, Budapest, illustrated by Arizzoli-Clémentel op. cit.., p.108, fig.1, Thomire is mentioned as one of the possible bronziers for these types of console tables.

It is also worthwhile considering a console table, circa 1803-06, stamped Jacob D.R. Meslée, illustrated by Arizzoli-Clémentel and Samoyault, op. cit., pp.114-115, which in 1808 was in the Élysée in the grand Salon on the ground floor, which is now at Versailles. The treatment of the flowers on the swags is almost identical and the female profile medallion on its side, to those on the offered table which lends further support to the attribution of the offered console table to Jacob-Desmalter. It is also worth noting the same authors op. cit., p. 142, no. 33, for the celebrated model of the console table with female terms which originally was in the bedroom of Murat in the Élysée, circa 1803-06,stamped Jacob DR Meslée. The internal supports are decorated with scrolling mounts conceived in a similar vein to those on the front supports of the offered table, with rinceaux, scrolls, rosettes and palmettes.

One should also consider a pair of pedestals  in amboyna, decorated with gilt-bronze mounts attributed to Jean-Philippe Thomire, circa 1811, formerly at the Tuileries according to the register of the Garde-Meuble royal, and belonged to the Duchesse de Berry which have mounts on the front with Cupid amidst scrolling foliage similar to those upon the offered consoles supports with an amphora shaped vase, illustrated by Guibal, op. cit., p. 129, plate 60.