A Royal Louis XV/XVI Transitional ormolu and silvered bronze-mounted tulipwood rafraîchissoir circa 1775, stamped F.C. Teune

the shaped and molded upper section fitted with a wine cooler, several small open compartments and covered with a molded ormolu sheet and inset with a white marble top fitted with an ormolu gallery, raised on plain square cabriole legs connected with two conforming undertiers fitted with ormolu galleries and terminating in casters; with the brand of the Comte d'Artois.

Delivered in 1775 for the dining-room of the Comte d'Artois at Versailles
René Weiller, Sotheby's Monaco, June 15, 1996, lot 147

With scattered age and construction cracks to veneer; most visible on undertiers where veneer also slightly buckling but not severely. One undertier now reinforce on underside. Scattered old worm damage to carcass; almost exclusively to upper section and now hidden under wine cooler. Mounts with some oxidation and surface dirt. In good 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.

This table is one of a set of four delivered in 1775 for the Comte d'Artois' dining-room at Versailles. The payment made to the Valets de chambre tapissiers for the Comte d'Artois' purchases for Versailles in 1775 is listed in the Archives Nationales "Aux Valets de chambre tapissiers de Monseigneur... pour l'Ameublement d'une salle à Manger à Versailles consistant en... quatre tables dites servantes de bois de rose avec fontes dorées et argentées..." at a cost of 670 livres including a set of 18 chairs by Delanois (Arch. Nat. R1 310). An identical table, stamped Teuné and also with the Comte d'Artois' brand, and therefore presumably part of the same order, is illustrated in Jean-Jacques Gautier, "Le Garde Meuble," La Folie d'Artois, Paris, 1988, pp. 100-101.

François Gaspard Teuné supplied much of the furniture for the Prince's appartments at Versailles in 1775, including a secrétaire à cylindre decorated with his arms in marquetry, now in the Royal Collection, Windsor and its pendant supplied for his library.