A late Louis XV gilt-bronze, mahogany inkstand, circa 1770, attributed to Philippe-Claude Montigny

Pietro Accorsi, Turin;

Sotheby's, New York, 18 October 2016, Lot 89 (sold 9 375 $)

Son of cabinetmaker Louis Montigny, Philippe-Claude Montigny practiced his craft in the courtyard of the Jewish quarter, near the Bastille. He specialized in restoring antique Boulle furniture. The Dauphin almanac described him as "one of the most renowned for furniture in tortoiseshell and silver or ebony and gilt copper." He is known as one of the principal initiators of the early Louis XVI style, with its rich ebony veneers contrasting with gilt bronze mounts.

Montigny created several inkstands, varying the gilt bronze decorations. Some feature a frieze of Vitruvian posts (Christie's London, 12 December 1996, lot 131), while others, like ours, display a Greek key pattern or an interlacing frieze, such as the one from the Jean-Marie Rossi collection sold by Sotheby's Paris on 11 March 2026, lot 247.

The attribution to Montigny can be supported by the sale by Christie's London on 15 November 2017, of an inkstand of the same model, stamped by Montigny, lot 228, which (sold £8,750), as well as another inkstand, also stamped, decorated with a frieze of Vitruvian posts, from the collection of Clare, Duchess of Sutherland, sold by Christie's London on 6 July 2006, lot 36, (sold £31,200).