Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 471TP
A Napoleon III porcelain and gilt bronze mounted satinwood and amaranth bonheur du jour by Maison Millet
17 – 18 July 2019, 10:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £5,687.50 inc. premium
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A Napoleon III porcelain and gilt bronze mounted satinwood and amaranth bonheur du jour by Maison Millet
With Sevres style plaques decorated with putti, birds and flowers, the superstructure with two hinged lidded tops and comprising six drawers and two doors, above one central frieze drawer flanked by two secret catch-activated drawers, on cabriole legs, two mounts incised: 'M.B.', 141cm wide x 66cm deep x 134cm high, (55 1/2in wide x 25 1/2in deep x 52 1/2in high)
Footnotes
The 'MB' which is engraved on the reverse of one mount on the offered lot refers to Blaise Millet. Maison Millet was established by Blaise and Theodore Millet in 1857, and continued until 1902 from premises at 11, Rue Jacques-Coeur in Paris, before relocating to 23, Boulevard Beaumarchais. Maison Millet were highly regarded and widely renowned cabinet makers of the 19th century that were described as producing 'meuble et bronze d'art, genre ancien et moderne'.
The Millet firm, which specialised in producing Louis XV and XVI style furniture of the finest quality, won several awards in the series of exhibitions in London and Paris, such as the gold Medal in the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle. In 1902 Maison Millet was authorised by the director of the Palais de Versailles to replicate Marie-Antoinette's celebrated Grand Cabinet à bijoux originally by Adam Weisweiler.
Literature
C. Payne, European Furniture of the 19th Century, 2013, Suffolk, p.42.
C. Mestdagh, L'Ameublement d'Art Francais, 1850-1900, 201, Paris.
