A pair of ivory painted and parcel-gilt boiserie panels Régence, circa 1720

in the manner of Jules Degoullons, each with a leaf carved border enclosing a rectangular panel with concave corners centred by a stylised scallopshell above an oval raised medallion enclosing a later painted oil on canvas depicting  a baluster vase of flowers on a plinth above a c-scroll and trelliswork panel enclosing dots terminating in a grotesque mask above a later square panel with concave corners enclosing a further similarly shaped panel ; now mounted as doors

Fischer-Böhler, Munich, 1980

Colour slightly darker overall and more attractive than in catalogue illustration. The decoration has been completely refreshed. Very attractive detail to carving. When inspected on the reverse, it would appear that there are some later elements that have been inserted so that the boiseries could be converted into doors. The square panel on the lower section has been re-backed. In overall good restored condition comprising of some later elements.
"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:
B. Pons, De Paris à Versailles 1699-1736. Les sculpteurs ornemanistes parisiens et l'art décoratif des bâtiments du roi, Association des publications près des universités de Strasbourg, 1983, plate 197, plates 243-244, plate 322.

Boiseries were fashionable in France in the  wealthy residences of the nobility and aristocracy in the 17^th and early 18^th centuries and were often complimented with furniture of a matching design.The panels were not confined just to the walls of a room, but were also used to decorate doors, frames, cupboards and shelves. Often pictures would be set into the boiseries, the carving framing the picture rather like a conventional frame as on the present example.

With their bold carving of scallopshells, scrolls and foliage, these impressive doors relate to the oeuvre of the Parisian sculpteurs ornemanistes who were creating boiseries for the Château de Versailles in the early 18th Century. They have certain affinities with the work of Jules Degoullons (1671-1737), who was one of the partners of the Société des Bâtiments du Roi and worked for this partnership between 1699 and 1736. Several ornaments appearing on the present doors also feature on his boiseries made for the chapel at Versailles. Together with the ateliers of André and Mathieu Legoupil, Marin Bellan and Pierre Taupin, Degoullons was additionally responsible for much of the carved panelling and related furniture supplied to Charles-Henri II de Malon de Bercy (B. Pons, De Paris à Versailles, Strasbourg, 1986, fig.127 and 161).

See Pons, op. cit., plate 197, for a boiserie with an overdoor in the Grand cabinet du Petit Hôtel de Villars conceived in a similar vein, reproduced here in fig.1. Pons also illustrates in plates 224-5, the Cabinet d'angle de l'hotel Peyrenc de Moras, 23, Place Vendome, Paris, with boiseries with similar oval cartouches and trelliswork by André et Mathieu Legoupil and Jules Degoullons.

One should also consider Pons, op. cit., plates 243-244, for overdoors by Jules Degoullons, (plate 243) and for the cabinet Parabère, Paris, (244) with carving conceived in a similar vein to that on these doors.
Finally, there is a design for a boiserie of similar form to the offered pair, illustrated by Pons, op. cit., plate 322, from Livre de divers dessins d'ornements par Thomas Lainé, (Paris, Bibl. nat), reproduced here in fig. 2.