attributed to Louis-Alexandre bellangÉ AN IMPORTANT ROYAL LOUIS PHILIPPE CONSOLE ET TRUMEAUX PARIS, CIRCA 1835-39, COMMISSIONED FOR THE PRINCE FERDINAND-PHILIPPE D'ORLÉANS

ormolu, engraved brass acanthus foliate on ebony veneer, with the Royal cipher of Prince Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans within an oval escutcheon beneath a crown and flanked by winged angels, the frieze, supports and mirror frame fitted with colored foil back rock crystal cabochons, Amber pearls and grotesque lion and griffons masks.

Un âge d'or des arts décoratifs, 1814-1848, exhibition catalogue, Réunion des Musées nationaux, Paris, 1991, pp. 230-234 and 334-336.

A. Dion-Tenenbaum, Le sanctuaire du pavillon de Marsan, in H. Robert (dir.), Le mécénat du duc d'Orléans, 1993, pp. 78-87.

A. Dion-Tenenbaum, Les marchands de curiosité à travers les achats du Garde-Meuble sous la monarchie de Juillet, in M. Preti-Hamard et P. Sénéchal (dir.), Collections et marché de l'art en France, 1789-1848, Rennes, 2005, proceedings of the international symposium, Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, Paris and the Getty Research Institute, pp. 229-241.

D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le mobilier français du XIX^eme siècle, Paris, 1989, pp. 59-62.

Overall in good condition with traces of wear and dirt. Please note that the orange beads are not amber as stated in the catalogue but they are hardstone, probably cornelian. Some pitting and tarnishing to mercury gilding. Tarnishing and oxidation to brass and pewter inlay. There seems to be 8 replacements to gilt-bronze rosettes backing the orange beads. One rosette and its bead missing to the circular panel centering the back of the stand. One bead missing from left front leg. Lifting to brass inlay in many places. Cracks to carcass and consequently ebony veneer with some minor losses to veneer in places. An unrestored chip to front marble edge of approximately 1/4 inch square. Mirror plate not contemporary to piece.
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.

Louis-Alexandre Bellangé (born in 1797)

  

Son of the cabinetmaker Pierre-Antoine Bellangé (1757-1827), supplier of the Garde Meuble under Louis XVIII, after actively working for the Mobilier Imperial  under Napoléon I, Louis-Alexandre succeeded his father as head of the family workshop which was located on the Rue Neuve-Saint-Denis and relocated it in 1825 to 8, Passage Saunier. He participated regularly and successfully in the Expositions des Produits de l'Industrie Française in 1827, 1834 and 1839, and became reknown for the high quality of his works, always reflecting the best taste and successfully incorporating decorative vocabularly inspired from history: neo-classicism, neo-renaissance, neo-Louis XIV and neo-gothic as in the present lot.

 

Examples of his Oeuvre are in the permanent collection of the Musée du Louvre, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Château de Versailles, the Mobilier National as well as in the Private collections of His Majesty the King of the Belgians in Brussels.

 

 

Historical Eclecticism in the French Decorative Arts

 

Until now, the whereabouts of the present lot were unknown.  It is interesting to note the combination of styles used.  The straight lines and break fronted base are in the Empire style, while the metal marquetry with patterns of acanthus-leaf is a very dynamic Interpretation of the néo-Boulle taste. On the other hand, the griffon and lion heads and the amber and colored rock crystal cabochons, evoke the Medieval and Renaissance periods. This set thus constitutes a rare example of the eclectic style, revealing the interest in history in the decorative arts during the Romantic period.

 

 

A Commission from Ferdinand-Philippe, duke of Orléans (1810-1842)

 

The presence of two bronze ornaments with cypher FPO surmounted by a royal crown and carried by two winged putti identify the original commissioner as being Ferdinand-Philippe, duke of Orleans, royal Prince and oldest son of Louis-Philippe, French king from 1830 to 1848. A person of great popularity at the time, the young duke embodied the image of the perfect future sovereign. His premature death from a calash accident in 1842 was a traumatic event for the French public opinion. Ferdinand-Philippe was also a considerable patron, in particular for the decorative arts. His apartments of the Pavillion de Marsan at the Tuileries in Paris were redecorated numerous times to constantly keep up with the latest trends. Several pieces of furniture and archived documents prove that the Bellangé family actively participated in these redecorating programs between 1834 and 1840.

 

The duke thus bought, with his private funds, several pieces of furniture at the stand of Louis-Alexandre at the exposition of the Produits de l'Industrie of 1834. In 1839, the cabinetmaker and his first cousin, Alexandre-Louis (1799-1863), commissioned the production of pieces of furniture in the historical style for the dining room, the whole suite being placed under the direction of the architect Charles-Auguste Questel (1807-1888). Alexandre-Louis made, for the room, four meubles à hauteur d' appui in Boulle marquetry, of which the location of three is known (a pair is in the Mobilier National and one is in the collection of the Louvre, recently acquired at Christie's London, September 27, 2007, lot 200). Louis-Alexandre indulged himself with a series of forty gilded wooden chairs in the Louis XIV style and three large gilt-bronze mounted carved ebony and mahogany sideboards (location of which is not known today, sold by the duchesse d'Orleans, Paris, 18-20th of January 1853, lots 36 and 41). The latter were intended to receive Antoine-Louis Barye's splendid centerpiece "Chasse" (conserved in part at the Walters Arts Gallery).

 

 The archives concerning the three sideboards describe imposing pieces of furniture, aesthetically close to the piece of furniture presented here. One may find there, in particular, designs in gilt bronze in "têtes et armes". These pieces of furniture were presented at the Exposition of 1839, during which Bellangé showed in addition, a curio cabinet, made of incrusted and inlayed ebony, decorated with sculptures and nielles de Wagner (corn-cockle). The union of styles and the recurring iconographic repertoire are also reflected in other pieces of furniture by Louis-Alexandre: one will cite in particular a table de milieu made around 1834 (sold Gallery Koller, Zurich, June 22, 2006, lot 1342) with a very similar treatment of the heraldic motifs, a meuble à hauteur d'appui from about 1840 (former collection of Didier Aaron) fitted with Boulle marquetry, and a second decorated with figures of roaring chimeras (former collection of Fabius, Paris).

Sotheby's is grateful to Sylvain Cordier for his help in the compilation of this footnote.