Lot 26
A Louis XIV ormolu-mounted ebony, fruitwood and marquetry commode, possibly by Aubertin Gaudron or André-Charles Boulle
9 July 2015, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £52,500 inc. premium
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A Louis XIV ormolu-mounted ebony, fruitwood and marquetry commode, possibly by Aubertin Gaudron or André-Charles Boulle
the rectangular top with rounded corners inlaid with a central urn filled with summer flowers including tulips, jasmine and carnations, on a platform supported by a grotesque mask, all surrounded by elaborate scrolling foliage, strapwork, butterflies and birds, the four long graduated drawers of arc-en-arbalète form, panelled to simulate eight short drawers with conforming marquetry, the canted corners with outset scrolling bases, on short feet formerly with mounts, the sides further decorated with marquetry vases of flowers and leafy scrolls, 120cm wide, 68cm deep, 87cm high (47in wide, 26 1/2in deep, 34in high).
Footnotes
André-Charles Boulle has become synonymous with the distinctive marquetry technique whose primary elements are brass and tortoiseshell. However he was also a practitioner of marquetry in multiple woods including fruitwood throughout his career. His design sources included those of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer and his sons, over 300 of whose studies for flowers, birds he owned. His inventory upon death in 1732 also included a collection of flower paintings by Beaudesson. At the age of 63, in the Acte de Délaisement of 1715, the ébéniste recorded in his stock various floral marquetry furniture items of the present type including five tables, seven cabinet doors, nineteen crates of coloured veneers together with other supplies of timber for producing marquetry veneers. In 1720, the damage resulting from a workshop fire included the loss of two coloured marquetry bureaux demonstrating marquetry of this genre remained fashionable at that date. Furniture of this kind in Boulle's documented oeuvre, includes a table with provenance from Blondel d'Azincourt and subsequently at Wanstead, sold from the Riahi Collection, Christie's New York, 2 November 2000, lot 40 and a pair of cabinet stands also from Wanstead sold from 'Boulle to Jansen', Christie's London, 12 June 2003, lots 25-26. A group of commodes closely related to the present lot include an example from the Wildenstein Collection, sold Christie's London, 14 December 2005, lot 115 and 500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe, Including Oriental Carpets at Christie's New York, 23 November 2010, lot 330.
Another ébeniste producing similar commodes was Aubertin Gaudron, whose workshop was in the rue Saint-Honoré. Enjoying Royal Patronage, Gaudron's clients included the Prince de Condé, the duc de Chartres and the duc d'Anjou. He last recorded receiving a payment by the Garde-meuble de la Couronne in 1713. Among his commissions was a commode supplied for the château de Compiègne. It is recorded in the following description: 'de bois de plusieurs couleurs fond d'ébène ornée au milieu d'un vase rempli de fleurs posé sur un bout de table et un masque grotesque au dessous le reste rempli de rinceaux fleurs oiseaux et papillons au naturel...(AN 01/3308)'.
Provenance:
Abney Hall, Cheadle.
The last private owner of Abney Hall was the grandson of Sir James Watts (1804–1878). Sir James' grandson was Agatha Christie's brother-in-law. James married Agatha's sister, Marjorie (Madge) Frary Miller (1879–1950), in 1902.
Agatha Christie often visited the Hall and wrote two stories from there: the novel "After the Funeral" and the short story "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding".
