Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 51TP
A Napoleon III ormolu and hardstone mounted ebony and ebonised buffet a hauteur d'appui or side cabinet attributed to Georges-Alphonse-Bonifacio Monbro (1807-1884)
29 November 2022, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£10,000 - £15,000
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A Napoleon III ormolu and hardstone mounted ebony and ebonised buffet a hauteur d'appui or side cabinet attributed to Georges-Alphonse-Bonifacio Monbro (1807-1884)
Of breakfront outline, with brass line-inlay, the ebonised top above an alternating acanthus and floral mounted frieze, over three panel mounted doors, the central panelled door inset with pietre dure depicting a butterfly and an urn of fruit, flowers and foliage surmounting a plinth, flanked by two panelled doors each mounted with pietre dure of entwined ribbon-tied branches of fruiting foliage and flowers, enclosing one long shelf, interspersed by four pilaster angles mounted with vine and bunch of grapes-adorned, imbricated lappet clasped and acanthus cast male and female bacchic herm busts surmounted by shells, on a shaped plinth base with a central Bacchus mask mount, 218cm wide x 47cm deep x 119cm high, (85 1/2in wide x 18 1/2in deep x 46 1/2in high)
Footnotes
The offered lot is virtually identical to one of the meubles d'appui, and similar to the other, which together comprise the matched pair of meubles d'appui (or side cabinets) which sold Christie's, London, 17 March 2022, View Over St. James's Square: A Private Collection, lot 71. Prior to that, these closely comparable cabinets had been purchased Christie's, London, 23 September 2010, 500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe, lot 322. As with the present one, they were most likely made during the 1850s or 1860s.
Georges-Alphonse-Bonifacio Monbro was a Parisian born cabinet maker who established his firm at Rue Basse du Rempart before some years later, in 1861, expanding his business to include an additional base in Frith Street, London. In 1838, Georges-Alphonse took over control of the company which had been founded by his father. And subsequently he rapidly enlarged the operation which predominantly specialized in the execution of Boulle inlaid furniture and hardstone mounted cabinets, the latter as typified by the offered model. The firm exhibited at the Paris Expositions of 1839, 1844, and 1855 where their clientele included King Louis Philippe. Examples of Monbro's oeuvre can be seen in the Musée d'Orsay and also at the Bowes Collection in Barnard Castle, Durham.
Literature
C. Payne, Paris Furniture: The Luxury Market of the 19th Century, Château de Saint-Rémy: Éditions Monelle Hayot, 2018, pp.'s 475-480.
D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Francais du XIXe siècle, 1795-1889: Dictionnaire des ébénistes et des Menuisiers, Paris: Éditions de l'Amateur, 2000, pp.'s 491-493.
