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French & Continental Furniture

3 Centuries of Excellence, Masterworks from Europe's Finest Artisans

A Louis XVI tulipwood, amaranth and satiné bureau plat à gradin, stamped J.F. LELEU. Estimate €120,000 - 180,000.
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Sotheby's Excellence sale on 13 November features an exceptional collection of 17th, 18th and 19th century works of decorative art, chosen for their scarcity, aesthetic qualities and provenance. An exhibition of the collection will be open at Sotheby's Paris, November 7-10 and November 12. Click the image above to view the slideshow.

Past Auction
Excellence
13 November 2018 | 4:00 PM CET | Paris

3 Centuries of Excellence, Masterworks from Europe's Finest Artisans

  • A magnificent and rare Imperial 'Qiangjin' and 'Tianqi' Lacquer Table, late Ming/early Qing Dynasty. Estimate €150,000 – 250,000
    A magnificent and rare Imperial 'Qiangjin' and 'Tianqi' Lacquer Table, late Ming/early Qing Dynasty.
    Estimate €150,000–250,000
    This table closely follows a type more commonly associated with the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty, with the same cusped aprons extending to rectangular sectioned legs which flare to leaves. A distinguiding feature of these later tables, however, is the small flower bud at the centre of the apron.
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  • An early Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted amaranth, satiné and Rio rosewood pedestal, circa 1730-1740, attributed to Charles Cressent. Estimate €200,000 – 400,000.
    An early Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted amaranth, satiné and Rio rosewood pedestal, circa 1730-1740, attributed to Charles Cressent.
    Estimate €200,000–400,000
    Following a fire that destroyed the large apartments of the Munich Residenz in 1729, Karl-Albrecht, Elector of Bavaria, undertook the huge redevelopment project. Today, the Munich Residenz still houses ten pieces of furniture by Cressent, forming an exceptional and rare homogenous set. Only this pedestal, which for a time appears to have been placed in the chamber of the Elector's wife and commemorates her union with Karl-Albrecht in 1722, was separated from the ensemble at an undetermined date.
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  • German-parcel-gilt-silver Trinkspiel (play drinking vessel), Hans Maulbrunner, Augsburg, 1614-1616. Estimate €150,000 – 180,000.
    A rare German parcel-gilt silver Trinkspiel (play drinking vessel), Hans Maulbrunner, Augsburg, 1614-1616.
    Estimate €150,000–180,000
    This trinkspiel surprises today's viewers as much as it did during the Renaissance. As the host poured water into the upper tank of the trinkspiel, wine flowed through small channels into the lower cup. In the presence of bewildered guests, the water miraculously transformed into wine and flowed down the long channel, activating the wheel of the watermill.
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  • A Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted Japanese lacquer and Parisian varnish commode, circa 1745, stamped I. DUBOIS. Estimate €150,000-250,000.
    A Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted Japanese lacquer and Parisian varnish commode, circa 1745, stamped I. DUBOIS.
    Estimate €150,000-250,000
    This beautiful commode has been kept in the same family since the 18th century. The Japanese-lacquered panels were embellished with a composition in Parisian varnish during production, enhancing the Japanese design with European details, and the gilt-bronze ornamentation has preserved its antique mercury gilding.
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  • A pair of Louis XVI gilt-bronze mounted and brass-inlaid ebony meubles d’appui, stamped P.GARNIER, circa 1775-1779. Estimate €150,000 - 250,000.
    A pair of Louis XVI gilt-bronze mounted and brass-inlaid ebony meubles d’appui, stamped P.GARNIER, circa 1775-1779.
    Estimate €150,000-250,000
    The Marquis de Marigny worked with cabinetmaker Pierre Garnier during the period 1766 to 1779. In letters between the two, we discover the origin of these meubles d'appui. 'For the two trumeaux, you will make me two mahogany armoires...which will not have more depth than the two armoires in ebony that you made me for my study at Place du Louvre ". They were probably intended for the study on the first floor of his townhouse.
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  • A Louis XVI tulipwood, amaranth and satiné bureau plat à gradin, stamped J.F. LELEU. Estimate €120,000 - 180,000.
    A Louis XVI tulipwood, amaranth and satiné bureau plat à gradin, stamped J.F. LELEU.
    Estimate €120,000-180,000
    A significant feature of this desk is the stamps from the cabinetmakers René Dubois and Philippe-Claude Montigny, who collaborated frequently. This desk is particularly distinguished by its tier and a more airy drawing on the frieze.
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  • A pair of white porcelain sitting buddhai with silver mounts, the mounts Paris, 1726-1732. Estimate €100,000-150,000 .
    A pair of white porcelain sitting buddhai with silver mounts, the mounts Paris, 1726-1732.
    Estimate €100,000-150,000
    This pair of candelabra reveals the fascination with the Far East and its culture, developing in the West from around the middle of the 17th century. Known as pagodes or magots, meaning images of mortals and immortals, these items are collected individually, or incorporated into larger objects.
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  • An exceptional Napoléon III gilt-bronze mounted ebony, lapis, jasper and marble cabinet, by Louis-Auguste-Alfred Beurdeley, circa 1867. Estimate €500,000-800,000.
    An exceptional Napoléon III gilt-bronze mounted ebony, lapis, jasper and marble cabinet, by Louis-Auguste-Alfred Beurdeley, circa 1867
    Estimate €300,000-500,000
    The Beurdeley family was one of the most important furniture production dynasties of the 19th century. Expertly crafted for the 1867 exhibition, this Beurdeley masterpiece is a brilliant testament of luxury furniture of the second half of the 19th century, whose craftsmanship was revived by the Second Empire. It differs from the usual pastiches produced by their workshops and asserts itself as an original creation.
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  • Zibellino in the form of a Marten's Head Rock crystal, with granet eyes, mounted as a snuff box with hinged gold and rock crystal cover, circa 1740. Estimate €20,000-30,000.
    Bogey
    Zibellino in the form of a Marten's Head Rock crystal, with granet eyes, mounted as a snuff box with hinged gold and rock crystal cover, circa 1740.
    Estimate €20,000-30,000
    The heights of courtly luxury attained by the artist of the sixteenth century are exemplified by this rock crystal marten's head. Known as a zibellino, originally it would have been attached to the end of the marten's pelt and worn over the shoulder or around the waist as a remarkable and novel display of taste and status.
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  • Attributed to Gervais I Delabarre, Le Mans, circa 1635, Virgin and Child Terracotta, with remnants of polychromy. Estimate €50,000-70,000.
    Attributed to Gervais I Delabarre, Le Mans, circa 1635, Virgin and Child Terracotta, with remnants of polychromy.
    Estimate €50,000-70,000
    The softness of the modelling, the harmonious lines of the bodies and the majestic proportions of this Virgin and Child are immediately striking in this piece. They are indubitably the work of one of the leading workshops of sculptors and modellers active in the middle of the 17th century, in the former province called Maine – comprising the current departments of Sarthe, Mayenne, and part of Anjou and Perche.
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  • Workshop of Jean-Jacques Caffieri (1725-1792)
    French, late 18th century
    River God
    Estimate €30,000-40,000
    In 1759, Caffieri presented his marble version of a Rivergod as his morceau de reception permitting him to be accepted at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (today in the Louvre, inv. n° MR 1773), showing a seated man holding an urn. The composition of our Rivergod is different : the bearded man is here - following the antique tradition - seated with his legs stretched to the side, leaning against an urn from which water pours, and holding a paddle in the other hand. Our terracotta is identical to a Rivergod in the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge (inv. n° M.6-1992), signed and dated like ours 1755.
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