A Louis XV ormolu-mounted Chinese lacquer and ebonized bureau plat circa 1750, stamped I Dubois JME

with traces of red paint on the inside of the legs and underside of the apron.

Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, October 30, 1967

With scattered age and construction cracks, dents and abrasions. Lacquer with fine cracks, some scattered areas of lifting and minor losses; most to edges and corners of drawers. Some ebonized and lacquer areas with minor restorations; not extensive. Minor loss to ebonized veneer under top. Traces of red paint under black paint on inside of legs and underside of apron. Top with some cracks. Corner mounts of top later, other mounts with oxidation, rubbing and surface dirt. Leather inset with cracks, scuffs, abrasions and loss to gilding. In good, generally unrestored condition.
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.

Jacques Dubois was one of the most important ébénistes of the Louis XV period and, arguably, one of the most prolific. He produced luxury furniture frequently incorporating Chinese or Japanese lacquer, largely consisting of secrétaires, bureaux and commodes. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was not dependent upon the patronage of the powerful and influential marchands-merciers, although he did occasionally supply pieces to Léger Bertin, François Machart and Deyle-François Labrunne, as well as the marchand-ébéniste Pierre Migeon. Also, he would have had to acquire the precious Chinese and Japanese lacquer veneers, which he employed, from the marchands merciers who seem to have controlled their distribution. Dubois largely cultivated his own exclusive roster of aristocratic clients and supplied his furniture directly to them. Dubois produced a large number of commodes and small, slant front writing tables and other small tables. Current records would suggest that although he did make bureaux plats of great quality, he produced rather fewer of them than other pieces, and the majority of them appear to have been executed in wood marquetry. The design of all of them is rather uniform and very liquid; the drawers are separated by marked curves with the central drawer slightly recessed; see, for example one in bois de bout marquetry, and two quarter veneered in tulipwood, one of the latter in the Louvre, illustrated Alexandre Pradère, Les Ébénistes Français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, 1989, pp. 174-75, pls. 155-58. If indeed Dubois did make only a few bureaux plats, it is ironic that one his finest pieces, arguably, one of the most iconic lacquer desks produced in the mid-eighteenth century, was made by Dubois and is now in the Louvre, see Daniel Alcouffe et al., Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Vol. 1, Dijon, 1993, pp. 158-159. Although veneered with panels of Japanese and not Chinese lacquer, the piece in the Louvre is highly comparable to the present piece with its undulating outline. The ormolu corner mounts of the legs on the present lot are also identical to those found on a commode sold Sotheby's New York, November 6, 2008, lot 76. The traces of red paint under the current ebonized surface on the insides of the legs and the underside of the undulating apron suggest that this piece was originally partially painted in red in these areas, which further relates this lot to other pieces by Dubois, such as the abovementioned commode. A comparable bureau plat incorporating Chinese lacquer panels and attributed to Dubois from the Collections of Lily and Edmond J. Safra was sold Sotheby's New York, October 19, 2011, lot 746 ($842,500).