A gilt-bronze and patinated-bronze, mahogany and Sèvres porcelain-mounted guéridon table the porcelain plaque Louis XVI, circa 1770-75 and attributed to Jacques-François Micaud (1732/35-1811), the base Empire, circa 1805 and attributed to Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820) and Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), possibly under the direction of Martin-Eloi Lignereux (c. 1750-1809)

the oval Sèvres porcelain plaque painted with a basket filled with flowers, inset in a frieze decorated with palm fronds, on an identically decoraed central stem flanked by four ancillary supports in the form of palm trunks each supported by a recumbent griffin, on an oval mahogany base

Hugo Nevill Money-Coutts, 8th Baron Latymer (1926–2003);
Sotheby's, London, 26th October 1973, lot 145;
William Redford Collection, London;
Private European collection;

 

In overall very good original condition. The glass panel protecting the porcelain has a minor chip to the surface on one side, there are chips, lifting and age cracks to the mahogany base thoughout consistent with age and use which can easily be restored.
"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."

Hans Ottomeyer/ Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Vol I, Munich, 1986, p.330, figs. 5.2.7, 5.5.2 and 5.5.4.
Jean-Pierre Samoyault, Mobilier Français Consulat et Empire, Paris, 2009, p.117, fig. 199.
Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Le Grand Trianon , Meubles et Objets d'Art, Vol. I, Paris, 1975, pp.147-148.
Gérad Hubert and Nicole Hubert, Musée national des Château de Malmaison et de Bois Préau, Paris, 1986, p. 46.
Geoffrey de Bellaigue, French Porcelain in The Collection of her Majesty The Queen, 2009, cat. no. 287.


This exquisite and jewel-like guéridon table is extremely rare because Sèvres porcelain is usually associated with Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture and it is only very seldom found with Empire furnishings.

The base:
Based on a very similar example, the present table can be attributed to a collaboration between the celebrated ébéniste Adam Weisweiler and the renowned fondeur-ciseleur Pierre-Philippe Thomire, possibly under the direction of the marchand-mercier Martin Eloi Lignereux. The present table relates strikingly to a table firmly attributed to Weisweiler and Thomire which was supplied in 1802 by Lignereux to the Palace of Saint-Cloud and is now in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, it is illustrated by Samoyault, op. cit., p. 117, fig. 199 and reproduced here in fig. 1.
It is very likely that Weisweiler, famous for his Sèvres inset Louis XVI pieces, made the centre table to the order of and after designs by Lignereux who would also have supplied the porcelain plaque. The attribution to Thomire is not only based on the quality of  the fine gilt bronze but also the fact that he was one of the main suppliers to Weisweiler, he was closely associated with Lignereux and collaborated with both of them. Identical lions with the distinctive inwards scrolling, acanthus leaf issuing tails can be found on candelabra and clocks by Thomire (see Ottomeyer, Pröschel, op. cit., p. 330, fig. 5.2.7, p. 342, fig. 5.5.2 and 5.5.4.)

It is also worth mentioning the design for a related guéridon by Charles Percier (1764-1838), reproduced here in fig. 2. Based on this design Jacob-Desmalter executed in circa 1805 a centre table for the  apartments in the Elysée Palace of Prince and Princess Murat. It is now in the Grand Trianon at Versailles and illustrated by Ledoux-Lebard, op. cit., pp. 147-148. Another version of this model was supplied to Malmaison, it is illustrated by Hubert et. al., op.cit., p. 46.

Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820)
Like many other important ébénistes of the 1700s, Adam Weisweiler was German-born. Although scholars know nothing about his apprenticeship and early training, church records show that he was established in Paris in 1777, the year he was married. He became a maître-ébéniste in 1778, set up his workshop on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and worked mainly for the marchands-merciers. These middlemen, such as Martin Eloi Lignereux, would then sell Weisweiler's works to members of the French court, including Queen Marie-Antoinette, the king of Naples, and England's Prince Regent (later George IV).
Weisweiler produced Neoclassical-style furniture using mainly plain veneers instead of pictorial marquetry. He also frequently made furniture set with lacquer or pietre dure panels or Sèvres porcelain plaques, to obtain distinctive effects.

Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843)
For further information on live and oeuvre of Thomire see footnote to lot 29.

Martin Eloi Lignereux (c. 1750-1809) and the Marchand-merciers
The marchand-merciers in Paris were hugely influential in determining taste, fashion, design and innovations in decoration during the latter part of the reign of Louis XVI and into the early 19th century. The hyphenated term is used to indicate their dual role as both merchants of objets d'art and as designers and interior decorators. They were members of the Parisian Mercers' Guild, but were not constrained by the strict regulations that were applied to craftsmen, as they did not have their own workshops. The marchand-merciers were mostly established in the rue St. Honoré, where they dealt in objects of art and furniture both imported from aboard and acquired from local craftsmen; they acted as intermediaries between the makers and the clients - commissioning pieces directly for the former and advising the latter. It was not unusual for a marchand-mercier to request that a piece of furniture could be adapted to please the taste of a certain client. These men were inextricably linked with the evolution of Parisian furniture - initiating and influencing fashions through their control over craftsmen and filling a fundamental role in the formation of many of the greatest collections of the period.

Martin-Eloi Lignereux was born in Cuvilly in the Valois. He married Anne-Henriette Demilliville and had one daughter, Adélaide-Anne, who married Franois-Honoré Jacob-Desmalter on 14 March 1798. During the 1780s Lignereux became a partner in the firm of the celebrated  marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre in the rue St. Honoré, which he took over completely in 1793. In 1799 he established further premises in the rue Christine, before settling at 41 rue Taitbout from 1803, where he also managed the dépôt des porcelaines nationales de Sèvres. He specialised in the production of precious pieces produced in small quantities but of the highest quality.

The Sèvres porcelain top:
The Sèvres porcelain plaque was painted around 1770-1775, in the style formerly attributed to Mlle Xhrouet but now largely largely reattributed to Jacques-François Micaud. The style is typical of his informal arrangement with many of the flowers turning outwards. The treatment of heavy strong-coloured flowers to the right of the composition, the blueish hue in the leaves, the use of the trailing convolvulus below the basket and the actual choice of flowers are all features common to his work. Other examples may be seen on a circular plaque inset in a black laquer commode by Weisweiler at Windsor Castle, a plaque inset in a secrétaire by Carlin at Waddesdon Manor, and another on a secrétaire from the Kress Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, reproduced here in fig. 3.

The porcelain table top could have remained unused as part of the stock of marchand-mercier Lignereux, or it might have come from another, earlier piece of furniture.The top oak underframe shows signs of having been originally attached to a different support which would suggest that the top was in use on a Louis XVI table before being converted to its present use, circa 1805.

Jacques-François Micaud (1732/35-1811):
Micaud joined the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory when he was twenty-two years old. He worked there for over forty years, eventually becoming one of their anciens peintres (senior painters)--a title conferring honour and distinction. On his arrival, the factory recorded his appearance: an oval face marked with small pox, brown eyes, and brown hair. The record also noted that "he had entered the factory with a promising ability to draw and witnesses had also said that he was a wise boy."
Micaud specialized at first in painting rich fabrics and roses. Over time, he became one of Sèvres' most talented flower painters, decorating porcelain tea services and other objects with flower sprays, garlands, and patterned borders of foliage or ribbons. His initial wage of thirty livres rose to one hundred livres per month by 1774.

Money-Coutts family, Barons Latymer:
This elegant table was once part of the Collection of the Money-Coutts family, heirs to the ancient barony of Latymer and Coutts & Co, the exclusive private bank. The Latymer barony dated from 1431, when it was created for Sir George Nevill, a son of the first Earl of Westmorland. However, the fourth baron died without a male heir in 1577, and the title was in abeyance until 1912, when the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords ruled, in the absence of other claimants, that it had passed through one of the fourth baron's daughters to Francis Burdett Thomas Money-Coutts (1852–1923). Although destined for the directors' room of Coutts & Co he was too interested in the arts to be a serious banker and became an important patron of the arts.