Cartonniere, Louis XV., of inlaid tulip-wood, containing a clock by Palanson, a Paris, mounted with Chinese figures, masks, foliage and scrolls of chased ormolu, 48 in. high, 36 in. wide. Christie, April 22, 1904 409 10 0

Secretaires, pair, Louis XV., small marquetry, with fall-down front, drawer above and door below, inlaid with branches of flowers, and mounted with chased ormolu, surmounted by white marble slabs, 46 in. high, 22 in. wide. Christie, April 29, 1904 46 4 0

Cabinet, Louis XV., parquetry, with folding doors enclosing drawers, mounted with ormolu, surmounted by a Brescia marble slab, 30 in. high, 44 in. wide. Christie, April 29, 1904 31 10 0

Bergeres, pair of Louis XV., corner-shaped, the frames of carved and gilt wood, the seats and backs covered with old Beauvais tapestry. Christie, May 18, 1904 420 0 0

Settee, Louis XV., oblong, of carved and gilt-wood, covered with panels of old Beauvais tapestry, 3 ft. 8 in. wide.

Christie, May 18, 1904 231 0 0

Canape, Louis XV., of carved and gilt wood, the borders carved with acanthus scrolls, the seat and back covered with old Beauvais silk tapestry, decorated, 4 ft. 6 in.

wide. Christie, May 18, 1904 420 0 0

[1] By the kindness of the proprietors of the _Connoisseur_ these items are given from their useful monthly publication, _Auction Sale Prices_.

VIII

FRENCH FURNITURE.

THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XVI

VIII

FRENCH FURNITURE.

THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XVI

Louis XVI. 1774-1793.

1730-1806. Riesener, _ebeniste_ to Marie Antoinette (born near Cologne).

1789. Commencement of the French Revolution.

The so-called Louis Seize period embraces much that is good from the later days of the previous reign. The same designers were employed with the addition of a few younger men. Caffieri and Riesener were producing excellent work, and above all was Gouthiere, whose renown as a founder and chaser of gilded bronze ornaments is unrivalled. Elegance and simplicity are again the prevailing notes. Straight lines took the place of the twisted contortions of the rococo style. Thin scrolls, garlands, ribbons and knots, cla.s.sical cameo-shaped panels, and Sevres plaques form the characteristic ornamentation.

The acanthus-leaf, distorted into unnatural proportions in the middle Louis Quinze period, returned to its normal shape, the egg-and-tongue moulding came into use, and the delicacy of the laurel-leaf was employed in design in Louis Seize decorations.

In the jewel cabinet ill.u.s.trated (p. 193), the new style is shown at its best. The cabinet is inlaid in rosewood and sycamore, and bears the name of "J. H. Riesener" stamped on it. The chased ormolu mounts are by Gouthiere. The geometrical inlay is a tradition which Oeben left to his successors. The upper portion has a rising lid with internal trays. In the lower part is a drawer and a shelf. This piece is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Jones Bequest, and it is well worth detailed examination as being a representative specimen of the most artistic work produced at this period.

Pierre Gouthiere had a complete mastery over his technique. The estimation with which his work is regarded has made furniture which he mounted bring extraordinary prices. In 1882, at the dispersal of the celebrated Hamilton Palace Collection, three specimens with his workmanship realised 30,000.

The Vernis-Martin panels were decorated by Watteau and Pater. The age of artificialities with its _fetes-galantes_ in the royal gardens of the Luxembourg and in the pleasure parks of the Court, with the ill-starred Marie Antoinette playing at shepherds and shepherdesses, had its influence upon art. Watteau employed his brush to daintily paint the att.i.tudes of _Le Lorgneur_ upon a fan-mount, or to depict elegantly dressed n.o.blemen and ladies of the Court dancing elaborate minuets in satin shoes, or feasting from exquisite Sevres porcelain dishes in the damp corner of some park or old chateau.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LOUIS XVI. JEWEL CABINET.

Inlaid in rose and sycamore woods. Stamped "J. H. Riesener." Chased Ormolu mountings by Gouthiere.

(_Jones Bequest. Victoria and Albert Museum._)]

The artificial pretence at Arcadian simplicity adopted by the Queen, in the intervals between her attendance at public _bals-masque_, when she almost wantonly outraged the susceptibilities of the French people by her frivolities, found a more permanent form in interior decorations.

Riesener and David designed a great deal of furniture for her. Dainty work-tables and writing-tables and other furniture of an elegant description are preserved in the national collection in the Louvre and at Fontainebleau, in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Jones Bequest, and in the Wallace Collection. Tables of this nature are most eagerly sought after. A small table with plaques of porcelain in the side panels, which is said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette, was sold at Christie's for 6,000 (Hamilton Collection). There is a similar writing-table in the Jones Collection, given by Marie Antoinette to Mrs.

Eden, afterwards Lady Auckland.

During the period under Louis Seize, when Fragonard and Natoire deftly painted the panels of rooms and filled ceilings with flying cupids and chains of roses, when Boucher was Director of the Academy, the interior of rooms a.s.sumed a boudoir-like appearance. The walls were decorated in a scheme of colour. Handsome fluted pillars with fine cla.s.sic feeling were the framework of panelling painted in delicate and subdued tones.

Oval mirrors, avoiding all ma.s.sive construction, lightened the effect, and mantelpieces of white marble, and furniture evidently designed for use, completed the interiors of the homes of the _grands seigneurs_.

Sometimes the walls were painted, giving a l.u.s.trous appearance resembling silk, and this style is the forerunner of the modern abomination known as wall-paper.

Before leaving this period of French furniture, when so much marquetry work was done of unsurpa.s.sed beauty and of unrivalled technique, a word may be said as to the number of woods used. Oeben and Riesener and their contemporaries used many foreign woods, of which the names are unfamiliar. Mr. Pollen, in his "South Kensington Museum Handbook to Furniture and Woodwork," has given the names of some of them, which are interesting as showing the number of woods especially selected for this artistic cabinetmaking. Tulip-wood is the variety known as _Liriodendron tulipifera_. Rosewood was extensively used, and holly (_ilex aquifolium_), maple (_acer campestre_), laburnum (_cytisus Alpinus_), and purple wood (_copaifera pubiflora_). Snake-wood was frequently used, and other kinds of light-brown wood in which the natural grain is waved or curled, presenting a pleasant appearance, and obviating the use of marquetry (_see_ "Woods used," p. 29).

In the great collections to which reference has been made, in well-known pieces made by Riesener his name is found stamped on the panel itself, or sometimes on the oak lining. The large bureau in the Wallace Collection (Gallery xvi., No. 66) is both signed and dated "20th February, 1769." This piece, it is said, was ordered by Stanislas Leczinski, King of Poland, and was once one of the possessions of the Crown of France.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _By permission of Messrs. Waring._

LOUIS XVI. RIESENER COMMODE.]

With regard to the cost of pieces of furniture by the great master _ebenistes_, it is on record that a secretaire which was exhibited at Gore House in 1853, and made originally for Beaumarchais by Riesener, cost 85,000 francs, a sum not much less than 4,000. Celebrated copies have been made from these old models. The famous cabinet with mounts by Gouthiere, now in the possession of the King, was copied about twenty-five years ago for the Marquis of Hertford, by permission of Queen Victoria. The piece took years to complete, and it is interesting to have the evidence of its copyists that the most difficult parts to imitate were the metal mounts. This replica cost some 3,000, and is now in the Wallace Collection. The copy of the famous bureau or escritoire in the Louvre, known as the "Bureau de St. Cloud," was made by permission of the Emperor Napoleon III., and cost 2,000. Another copy of the same piece exhibited at the French International Exhibition was sold for 3,500 to an English peeress. Many fine copies of Riesener's work exist, and in the ill.u.s.tration (p. 197) a copy is given of a handsome commode, which exhibits his best style under the influence of his master, Oeben.

RECENT SALE PRICES.[1]

s. d.

Cabinets, pair of Louis XVI., dwarf ebony, the panels inlaid with black and gold lacquer, decorated with birds and trees in the Chinese taste, mounted with foliage borders of chased ormolu, and surmounted by veined black marble slabs, 45 in. high, 35 in. wide. Christie, November 20, 1903 39 18 0

Suite of Louis XVI. furniture, with fluted borders and legs, painted white and pale green, the seats, backs, and arms covered with old Beauvais tapestry, with vases and festoons of flowers and conventional arabesques in poly-chrome, on white ground in pale green borders, consisting of an oblong settee, 72 in. wide, eight fauteuils. Christie, December 18, 1903 1470 0 0

Secretaire, Louis XVI., upright marquetry, with fall-down } front, drawer above, and folding doors below, inlaid } with hunting trophies on trellis-pattern ground, mounted} with foliage, friezes, and corner mounts of chased } ormolu, and surmounted by a Breccia marble slab, stamped} "J. Stumpff. 315 0 0 Me.," 56 in. high, 40 in. wide. } Christie, February 12, 1904 Commode, _en suite_, with } five drawers, 58 in. wide. Christie, February 12, 1904 } } 714 0 0 Work-table, Louis XVI., oval, in two tiers, upon a tripod } stand, with double candle branches above; the top tier } is composed of a Sevres plaque, painted with sprays of } roses; around this is a gallery of chased ormolu; the } second tier is of parquetry, this has also a balcony; } the tripod base is of mahogany, with mounts of ormolu, } cast and chased; the nozzles for the two candles above } are similar in material and decoration, width of top } tier, 13 in. Christie, March 18, 1904

Table, Louis XVI., marquetry, signed "N. Pet.i.t," top inlaid with musical trophy, &c., mounts, &c., of ormolu, cast and chased, 30 in. wide. Christie, March 18, 1904 99 15 0

Fauteuils, pair, Louis XVI. (stamped "J. Leglartier"), tapered oblong backs and curved arms, turned legs, white and gilt, covered with Beauvais tapestry, with subjects from "Fables de la Fontaine," and other designs.

Flashman & Co., Dover, April 26, 1904 75 0 0

Console-table, Louis XVI., carved and painted wood, with fluted legs and stretchers, and open frieze in front, surmounted by a slab of white marble, 5 ft. 4 in. wide.

Christie, May 6, 1904 46 0 0

Commode, Louis XVI., containing three drawers, in front it is divided into three rectangular sunk panels of parquetry, each bordered with mahogany, with ormolu mounts, surmounted by a slab of fleur-de-peche marble, 57 in. wide. Christie, May 27, 1904 357 0 0

Commode, Louis XVI., stamped with the name of "J. H.

Reisener," with tambour panels in front and drawers at the top; it is chiefly composed of mahogany, the central panel inlaid in a coloured marquetry; on either side, and at the ends, are panels of tulip-wood parquetery, the whole is mounted with ormolu, surmounted by a slab of veined marble, 34 in. wide. Christie, May 27, 1904 3150 0 0

[1] By the kindness of the proprietors of the _Connoisseur_ these items are given from their useful monthly publication, _Auction Sale Prices_.