Joseph Cremer 1811 - (?) A Louis XIV style gilt-bronze mounted ebony side cabinet after the model by André Charles Boulle Paris, circa 1865

with a rectangular campan mélangé marble top of break-front outline, the front centered by a medallion depicting Louis XIV flanked by swags above a cupboard door, each side with four shallow drawers, raised on a plinth base with spirally fluted feet, signed Cremer Marqueteur twice to top and once to the back, and with an inventory number V8901.

Sotheby's New York, April 22, 2010, lot 124

Overall in good original condition; the marble with minor light scratches consistent with age and use; the ebony veneers showing light hairline vertical age cracks; the bronze mounts have retained the original gilding, but with losses to gilding in places with some tarnishing and dirt.
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.

Although the origin of the present model is arguably from André-Charles Boulle's workshop, made circa 1700, it is interesting to compare the Boulle revival period that occurred during the second half of the 19th century with the earliest Boulle revival period, that occured in the 1760's, as seen in the works of cabinetmakers such as Etienne Levasseur, Philippe-Claude Montigny and Adam Weisweiler, who incorporated late 17th/early 18th century Boulle marquetry panels into new pieces of furniture. A pair of cabinets that belonged to the 4th Marquess of Hertford and now at the Wallace Collection, were lent to the Musée rétrospectif de Paris in 1865 and it was certainly from such mid 19th century exhibitions that leading French cabinetmakers drew their interest in copying and transforming this model. Here unlike many 19th century copies of the 17th and 18th century model, the present cabinet is decorated with ebony veneers solely. 18th century models can be seen at the Louvre in Paris, the Wallace Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and The Metropolitain Museum and the Frick Collection in New York.

Joseph Cremer was one of the most renowned marqueteurs of the mid-nineteenth century in France. He supplied furniture to Louis-Philippe and the King of Holland. Cremer exhibited at major exhibitions, winning medals in 1839, 1844, 1849 and 1852. At the 1855 Paris Exposition Universelle he was described by the Jury as "un maître."