A LARGE AND FINE LOUIS XV CARVED GILTWOOD CONSOLE TABLE, AFTER A DESIGN BY PIERRE CONTANT D'IVRY circa 1755

Almost certainly made for duc de Saint-Aignan circa 1755 for his residence in Paris, hôtel de la rue Sainte-Avoye, and probably sold after his death in 1776

Christie's New York, October 23, 1998, lot 89

The later top with chips and some restorations. With scattered age and construction cracks, dents and abrasions. Carving with small losses, some restored breaks and abrasions and rubbing. A few small recarved patched. Gesso with cracks, scattered losses and chips. Regilt, gilding with rubbing, losses and chips. Some old worm damage to underside of feet; not extensive. In good overall 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.

The inventory prepared following the death of Paul-Hyppolyte de Beauvilliers, duc de Saint-Aignan (1684-1776) in 1776 includes six tables, probably a near set, with "brèche verte plaquée" tops. Two of these tables were sold in a sale that took place on June 17 of the same year and were described as: "Deux tables plaques de vert antique entourées de marbre blanc chantourné, largeur 6 pieds [195 cm], profondeur 26 pounces [70 cm], sur leur console de bois sculpté et doré." As the sales entry shows, these tables have very similar measurements to the console offered here. Furthermore, when the present table was sold in 1998, it had a shaped serpentine verde antico and white marble top that fits the 1776 description. Along with the other table in the lot, later with Didier Aaron in Paris, and those four mentioned in the above inventory, it was almost certainly commissioned by the duc de Saint-Aignan at around 1755. The two tables included in the 1776 sale have basically identical feet, legs, stretchers and aprons with the only major difference being at the carving of the knee as the table with Didier Aaron was decorated with large sunflowers instead of scrolling acanthus. A third comparable console table was sold Christie's London, December 4, 1986, lot 96 and is now in the J. Paul Getty Museum, see Bill Pallot, L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe Siècle en France, Paris, 1987, p. 155.

The design of these tables can be attributed to the architect Pierre Contant d'Ivry (1698-1777), who was commissioned to design furniture for certain interiors of the Palais Royal in Paris and the Bernstorff Palace in Copenhagen. A design for a console table by d'Ivry, now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, probably intended for the Salle de Jeu of the Palais Royal, depicts a piece that is very similar to the table offered here. The most apparent similarities are the upward curling feet, the palm leaves of the legs and the animated knee carved heavily with acanthus. Being one of the foremost instigators of the rocaille symétrisée classicisante, d'Ivry balanced the richness and playfulness of the individual Rococo design elements with an overall symmetrical composition. In his book L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe Siècle en France, Bill Pallot notes that as early as 1754 there was an attempt to "regulate" the exuberance of the Rococo. Along with d'Ivry, designers and architects such as Charles-Nicolas Cochin and Jean-François Blondel campaigned for more symmetrical compositions while retaining the asymmetry of individual design elements by keeping them essentially Rococo. The overall symmetrical arrangement of this console table clearly reflects this tendency in design and, while made-up of a plethora of quintessentially Rococo elements, it exhibits very early signs of the forthcoming Neoclassicism, making it not only an emblematic product of the golden age of the Rococo, but also a product of the ushering in of the new goût grec style in France.