A LOUIS XV GILT-BRONZE MOUNTED BLACK LACQUER COMMODE MID-18TH CENTURY

Christie's New York, 20 October 2006, lot 417

This elegant commode typifies the fascination for the Orient from the first half of the 18th century when ébénistes began to incorporate exotic materials such as lacquer into pieces of furniture. Furniture pieces incorporating Chinese and Japanese lacquer were quite rare and collectors spent vast sums acquiring them. Typically, the marchand-merciers were in charge of importing the Chinese and Japanese furniture pieces which lacquer panels were then be cut off by the ébénistes. Once transformed into luxury pieces, the furniture pieces were sold to an elite clientele desperate to acquire the latest fashion, initiated in this case by the marchand-mercier Thomas-Joachim Hébert who had supplied in 1737 a B.V.R.B commode incorporating Japanese lacquer panels to Queen Maria Leszczyinska. The craze for Japanese lacquer continued well into the reign of Louis XVI and some the most important ébénistes including Levasseur, Carlin, Riesener and Weisweiler executed pieces using this extraordinary material. In relation to the present lot, a similar commode stamped Christophe Wolff, reçu maître in 1755, was sold Sotheby's London, 10-12 March 1999, lot 690.