A Louis XIV gilt-bronze mounted pewter, brass, tortoiseshell and ebony Boulle marquetry coffre en tombeau, attributed to André-Charles Boulle, circa 1690

of sarcophagus shape, in première and contre-partie, the stepped rectangular hinged lid fitted at each corner with a lions masks continuing to a tapered strap cast with bellflowers and terminating in paw feet, the sides with gilt-bronze carrying handles, the whole veneered with marquetry forming arabesques, rinceaux and lambrequins, the interior similarly veneered

Related literature

P. Fuhring, “Designs for and after Boulle furniture”, in The Burlington Magazine, June 1992, pp. 350-62;

P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Furniture, vol. II, London, 1996;

A. Pradère, Les ebenistes Français de Louis XIV à la révolution, Paris, 1989;

J-R. Ronfort (ed.), André Charles Boulle : Un nouveau style pour l’Europe, exh. cat., Paris, 2009;

J-P. Samoyault, André Charles Boulle et sa famille, Paris, 1979.

ENGLISH The coffer is in an interesting state of conservation as it appears not to have been restored since the end of the 19th century, which makes it possible to envisage a made-to-measure restoration. There are accretions of dirt, especially on the exterior. The interior has naturally been more protected by the aggressions related to oxidation and accidents. It should be noted that the removable tray normally found on this model has disappeared just like the plaque fixed to the interior of the first lid, where a mirror has been placed. The carcase: it is made of oak, with some slits to the jointures of the main body of the casket. The marquetry: in general, it has been very well preserved, and although there are some losses, it is largely original. There are some liftings and it will need to be entirely removed, restored and reposed on the exterior, since the original glue has completely dried and needs rehydrating. The tortoiseshell: presents a nice colour and transparency. The exterior with some minor losses; the interior in a better condition. It is rare to be able to appreciate the engraving on the tortoiseshell which has here been preserved and can be admired on several of the panels. The pewter: on the exterior, it has been preserved; the interior presents some small losses, especially on the filleting. Very good engraving on the floral elements. Some marks and scratches on the plain surfaces. The brass: particularly abundant on the exterior, with some lifting on the marquetry, especially on the top lid. The interior of the principal lid in contre-partie displays a very nice and fine engraving. The ebony: some lifting and losses to the veneer; the parts on the edges of the base have been cut so as to receive at a later date the gilt-bronze feet. The gilt-bronzes: there are traces of mercury gilding; the feet have been added probably at the end of the 19th century. The fitting of these feet has left some traces to the base. The gilt-bronzes display accretions of dirt which can be removed with cleaning. The extremely delicate and precise quality of the chiselling will then also fully come out. The same can be said for the original gilding. The bronzes are original, only the small rosettes around the handles appear to have been substituted at some point. The coffer would originally have stood on small feet which are now lost. The locks: there are two locks, the main one locking the main lid and a smaller one locking the upper lid. This last one has been added at a later date, and is without key. Screws and bolts have been replaced. In conclusion, the present coffer is a true discovery, with magnificent marquetry panels, especially the ones in premiere-partie. The majority of the materials are original. As stated above, the coffer will need complete restoration and cleaning, re-gluing and casting of some lost elements so as to restore it to its full splendour. FRENCH Coffret en marqueterie d'écaille brune, étain, laiton, ébène et bronze doré d'époque Louis XIV, attribué à André-Charles Boulle. Le coffret est dans un état de conservation fort intéressant puisqu'il semble ne pas avoir été restauré depuis la fin du XIXe siècle ce qui permet d'envisager une préservation et une restauration « sur mesure ». Il est très sale, surtout à l'extérieur où les surfaces sont recouvertes d'une couche de poussière et de saleté. L'intérieur est naturellement plus protégé des agressions liées aux oxydations et contacts. Il est à noter que le plateau à écrire amovible présent sur les autres coffrets connus a disparu tout comme le coussin fixé sur le revers du premier couvercle où une plaque de miroir a été posée. Le bâti : en chêne, avec quelques ajours au niveau des assemblages du corps principal du sarcophage. La marqueterie : d'une manière générale elle a été très bien préservée, il y a des manques mais elle est en très grande partie originale. Elle se soulève et a besoin d'être entièrement déposée, complétée et reposée à l'extérieur, la colle ayant séchée et nécessitant une réhydratation. -l'écaille de tortue a une belle couleur mordorée et une belle transparence. L'extérieur avec quelques petits manques ; l'intérieur logiquement plus préservé. Il est rare de pouvoir apprécier le travail de gravure sur l'écaille qui a été conservé et que l'on peut voir sur différents panneaux. -l'étain : il y en a assez peu à l'extérieur, il a été conservé ; à l'intérieur, quelques tout petits manques, principalement des filets. Très fine gravure sur les éléments floraux. Quelques rayures et griffures sur les surfaces planes. -le laiton : surtout présent à l'extérieur, les soulèvements de marqueterie concernent les filets et rinceaux de laiton avec des manques principalement observés sur le couvercle supérieur. Le revers du couvercle principal en contre partie avec une jolie et délicate gravure des éléments en laiton. -l'ébène : quelques soulèvements et manques au placage ; les parties en relief sur la bordure de la base ont été façonnées pour recevoir à une époque postérieure des pieds en bronze qui ont été ensuite enlevés. -les bronzes dorés : ils portent les traces d'une dorure au mercure ; des pieds griffes ont été rajoutés vraisemblablement à la fin du XIXe siècle et retiré depuis. L'ajout de ces pieds a laissé des traces (perçage, façonnage des angles). Les bronzes sont très sales et recouverts d'une pellicule de saleté qu'un nettoyage fera disparaître. La qualité extrêmement délicate et précise de la ciselure est bien présente et ressortira. Il en est de même pour la dorure. Les bronzes sont les bronzes d'origine, seules les petites rosaces entourant les éléments de fixations des poignées ont été rapportées. Le coffret devait reposer sur des petits pieds en griffe aujourd'hui disparus. -les serrures : il existe deux serrures, l'une principale fermant le grand couvercle et une autre plus petite fermant le couvercle supérieur. Cette dernière a été rajoutée à une date postérieure ; sans clé. La visserie a été remplacée. En conclusion, il s'agit d'une redécouverte puisque ce coffret n'était pas répertorié, les panneaux en marqueterie –principalement en première partie- sont magnifiques. Une très grande partie des matériaux composant ce coffret ont été conservés. Comme décrit précisément, le coffret nécessite une restauration complète avec nettoyage, reprise des collages, restitution de certains éléments et matériaux composant la marqueterie afin de lui redonner tout son éclat.
"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."

A new addition to the oeuvre of André-Charles Boulle, this coffre en tombeau is one of only four such coffers known to date. The model was in fact conceived as the original combination of a travelling éscritoire and a serre-papiers, and intended to be of unprecedented opulence. Entirely produced within Boulle’s atelier in the Galleries du Louvre, it relates to a larger example, on stand, delivered for the apartements of Louis, Grand Dauphin of France at Versailles in 1684. Of the three models of coffers known to have been designed by the master, the one to which the current lot belongs is the most accomplished and innovative.

Coffers by André-Charles Boulle

Sometimes termed coffre de toilette, the first and most frequent type is of a conventional, rectangular shape with slightly domed lid and rests upon an elaborate stand. It features classic Bacchic masks to the front, and espagnolette or satyr mask as central lock plates. Examples include one pair formerly in the Saxon Royal Collection and now at Schloss Moritzburg, Dresden; a single piece from the collection of the Earls of Cathcart, sold these Rooms, 20 June 1975, lot 38; a matched pair sold Christie’s New York, 21 May 1996, lot 329, and finally a pair sold Christie’s Paris, 5 November 2014, lot 53.

The second type of coffer is thought to have been first conceived for the Grand Dauphin. One pair is in the collection of the Dukes of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace, another in the J. Paul Getty Museum (inv. no. 82.DA.109). Both feature gilt-bronze straps much like seen on the present coffer, whilst one pair in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (inv. no. K-2009-255-1) displays elaborately scrolled gilt-bronze acanthus angles instead of marquetry volutes.

The construction principle of this second type is identical to that of the present coffer, with a lid that opens in two sections, the upper section revealing a shallow compartment above a larger well. The delivery of the pair now in the Rijksmuseum to Henri-Jules de Bourbon, Prince de Condé (1643-1709), in 1688,¹ together with stylistic similarities to other pieces (see below) further substantiates a likely dating for the offered lot to around 1685-95.

Only four other examples of the present model are known: the first is in the Qizilbash Collection (fig. 1); a second, formerly in the Safra Collection, was sold Sotheby’s New York, Property from the Collection of Lily & Edmond J. Safra, 3 November 2005, lot 150 ($800,000; reproduced in fig. 2), a third one is currently in the open market and a fourth, veneered in red tortoiseshell, in a private collection. These  are to all effects identical, with the exception of première- and contre-partie panels, which are combined differently on each. This supports the view that such coffers were not, as a rule, meant as a pair. Rather, this seems to have been an ingenious invention of the marchand-merciers of the second half of the 18th century.

Coffers are mentioned in various inventories of Boulle's stock. The Déclaration somptuaire of April 7, 1700 lists "deux petits coffres avec leurs pieds", whilst the 1715 Acte de délaissement, in which Boulle made over his property to his four sons, lists "douze pieds de coffres ayant des guesnes ou de cabinets en bois blanc de sapin 600 L." Finally, the inventory drawn up following Boulle's death in 1732 mentions "une boeste contenant les modèles des ornemens de coffres de nuit et de toilette pesant ensemble quarante-quatre livres", although it does not specify whether these are normal coffers or en tombeau.

The design

A design for a coffer on stand, a “Coffre de toilette monté sur son pied”, appears in Mariette’s engravings published in Nouveaux Deisseins de Meubles et Ouvrages de Bronze et Marqueterie Inventés et Gravés par André-Charles Boulle (Paris, 1707). The closest design to the present coffer, however, is found in the design for a bureau (fig. 3) by Jean Bérain the Elder (1637-1711). This appears to have been delivered to the Régent Philippe, duc d’Orléans at the Chateau de Meudon and is depicted in an anonymous painting now at Versailles. Note the pair of straps on the front and the lion’s heads, but also the overall design of volute rinceaux marquetry, and the female mask.

This design, posthumously published (Paris, 1711) is the most likely antecedent for this group, and seems to have also inspired a small group of commodes, also en tombeau, attributed to Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt.² Unprecedented in France, the sarcophagus shape, rooted in Roman antiquity and Renaissance, appears to have been especially popular in the 1680s. In fact, a particularly close solution for the tapered strap appears on the monument to Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) executed in 1685, the statue from a design by Le Brun, in the Église de St Eustache, Paris, and it is easy to conjecture an involvement of Bérain, if not of Boulle himself, for the monument to a man who had effectively shaped not only the two artists’ careers, but also the very Louis XIV style as we know it.

A great art collector particularly fond of the late Renaissance period, Boulle was imbued in classical culture. As argued by Ransard, his work appears singularly devoid of baroque references: it is classical much as contemporary French architecture was classical. References to the antique therefore abound in his works. In this context, it is easy to see the appeal that Bérain’s designs, embedded in the Italian Renaissance grotesques. The marquetry design is also indebted to engravings by Bérain, particularly in solutions such as the fine, naturalistic laurel wreaths on the interiors, and relates to some of Boulle’s most accomplished pieces.

The interior of the main lid, veneered in exquisitely engraved contre-partie, displays a cartouche motif that is nearly identical to that on the interior of the doors of the Cabinet au Perroquet from 1680-85 at the Chateau de Versailles (inv. no. 4653).

The rare banding of stylized volutes above which the fitted tray would have stood appears to be a further idiosyncratic element and proof of Boulle’s ability to personalize his creations. Intriguingly, this is also used to frame the marquetry panel on the door of the Versailles cabinet. Moreover, the design of the première-partie bottom of the coffer is reminiscent of the motifs employed on the interior of the doors of the armoires “de l’histoire d’Apollon” such as the pair in the Wallace Collection (F61 and F62; cf. Hughes, 1996, pp. 816-30).

Finally, it should be noted how the female masks with plaited hair, whilst a recurrent motif in Boulle's extraordinarily rich repertoire of gilt-bronze, only seem to occur in this precise shape on the four écritoires en coffre en tombeau. 

The marquetry

Pewter marquetry was first introduced in France around the mid-17th century as a substitute for silver, Jacques Tallon being one of the first ébénistes to master this technique. Tortoiseshell veneer also became fashionable at around the same time, and is found on a number of tables delivered to the Cardinal Mazarin. These new materials required great technical knowledge to be fixed on to the carcase. Pewter was sourced from the mines of Cornwall, brass from Stolberg, in Germany. Pewter was “whitened” with mercury to give it the fine aspect of silver. According to Ronfort (2009, p. 67), the key to Boulle’s early success at the Royal Court lies precisely in his ability to construct innovative marquetry patterns resulting in an admirable chromatic equilibrium and in his genius as a doreur and ciseleur at a time when gilt-bronze was barely used on furniture pieces.

André Charles Boulle (1642-1732)

Born in Paris in 1642, Boulle trained under his father and, from 1664, was attached to the collège de Reims, Paris, as a painter and marqueteur. At the age of thirty he was appointed ébéniste du Roi and subsequently supplied furniture and decorative objects for Versailles and other royal palaces as well as carrying out commissions for various clients including members of the French Court and foreign Royalty. He became the most celebrated furniture-maker of the Louis XIV period, supplying many pieces decorated with brass and tortoiseshell marquetry, a technique which has subsequently borne his name. He remained in overall charge of his workshop in the Louvre until his death in 1732, though he passed on the day to day running of it to his sons.

In his Livre Journal for 1748-58, the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux registers selling many pieces of furniture inlaid with tortoiseshell and brass which he lists specifically as being made by Boulle. His clients for these pieces included Mme de Pompadour, who bought from him a commode of the same model as those made for the Trianon to give to her brother, the Marquis de Marigny. Other clients for Boulle furniture were the Marquis de Voyer and Lalive de Jully. In 1742, Piganiol de Force published his Description de Paris, in which he enthuses over the cabinet of M. de Julienne with its furniture by the famous Boulle. Dezailler Dargenville in his Voyages de Paris (1745) talks of the collection of Blondel de Gagny where tables, commodes and other fine works were to be found again by the famous Boulle.

On a final note, it is worth remembering the historical 1767 sale of the Jean de Jullienne collection comprised of an ensemble of exceptional Boulle furniture, including “Un petit coffre de toilette en tombeau de marqueterie de Boule, garni de bronze” (lot 1646), which could well be one of the four known coffres.

Footnotes

¹ In August 1788, the Comptes de la Maison de Condé register a payment “Au Sieur Boulle ébéniste de la somme de 1260 L[ivres] pour deux coffres de toilettes de marqueterie qu’il a faits pour le service de SAS. Mademoiselle de Bourbon à l’occasion de son mariage avec Monseigneur le prince de Conti.”

² For a discussion on the commode attributed to Oppenordt in the Wallace Collection (inv. no. F405) see Hughes, 1996, pp. 636-38.