A Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted Chinese lacquer and European varnish commode, circa 1760, stamped by Louis Foureau

Louis Foureau, cabinetmaker, received master in 1755.

Louis Foureau maintained a workshop on the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis for over thirty years. He specialized in furniture decorated with French varnish, emulating the works of his contemporaries who used lacquer panels cut from imported Chinese and Japanese cabinets, chests, and screens. His production was mainly in the Transitional and Louis XVI styles. A pair of black and gold lacquer encoignures is held at the Musée Carnavalet in Paris (A. Forray-Carlier, Le mobilier du Musée Carnavalet, Dijon, 2000, no. 19, pp. 68–69).

Surviving works stamped by Foureau are relatively rare and seldom appear on the market. A few examples sold at auction in recent years include:

• a pair of encoignures : Christie’s London, 3 November 2016, lot 434,
• a semainier : Sotheby’s Paris, 5 May 2015, lot 290,
• a Louis XV–style commode : Christie’s Paris, 21 June 2006, lot 266.

All of these pieces are decorated in black and gold lacquer.