Sarah Hofstadter
Sale Coordinator & Cataloguer
Preview LotW
A LOUIS XVI GILT BRONZE MOUNTED MARBLE TOP PARQUETRY TULIPWOOD AND AMARANTH SECRÉTAIRE Á ABATTANTRoger Vandercruse (French, 1727 - 1799), known as Lacroix, late 18th century
20 – 30 July 2025, 12:00 PDT
Los AngelesUS$12,000 - US$18,000
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Jason Stein
Senior West Coast Director
Sharon Squires
Head of Department, Post-War & Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
David Trujillo
Head of Sale
Cassandra D'Cruz
Specialist, Head of Sale
A LOUIS XVI GILT BRONZE MOUNTED MARBLE TOP PARQUETRY TULIPWOOD AND AMARANTH SECRÉTAIRE Á ABATTANT
Roger Vandercruse (French, 1727 - 1799), known as Lacroix, late 18th century
Stamped R.V.L.C, each mask mount with C couronné poinçon stamp.
height 56 1/2in (143.5cm); width 35 1/2in (90.2cm); depth 16 3/4in (42.5cm)
Stamped R.V.L.C, each mask mount with C couronné poinçon stamp.
height 56 1/2in (143.5cm); width 35 1/2in (90.2cm); depth 16 3/4in (42.5cm)
Footnotes
Provenance
Pietro Accorsi, Turin, inventory no. 2628;
Jacques Perrin, Paris;
The Collection of A. Jerrold Perenchio, acquired from the above, 1989;
Christie's, New York, The Collection of A. Jerrold Perenchio Chartwell: An Henri Samuel Commission, 01-16 September 2020, Lot 90.
Literature
O. Furth, Optimistic Interiors, Rizzoli, New York, 2024, p.36 (secretaire illustrated)
Roger van der Cruse, known as Lacroix, maître in 1755.
Roger Vandercruse Lacroix belonged to the most important furniture-making dynasty of the 1700s, related by both blood and marriage. He became a master in 1755 and took over his father's workshop and from 1769 to 1774, he supplied furniture to the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne; his business prospered as the duc d'Orléans and Madame du Barry joined his list of clients. Vandercruse Lacroix's pieces were admired for their marquetry and parquetry in geometric and floral patterns made of tulipwood, amaranth, and kingwood, and was among the first cabinet-makers who embraced Neoclassicism and created the highest quality furnishings in the new taste. He often achieved the symmetry and balance seen in Neoclassical designs by the use of uniform parquetry inlay, epitomized by this secrétaire. The overall trellis motif punctuated with quatrefoil rosettes is one of the many variations of such parquetry decoration that was used on a number of Vandercruse Lacroix's pieces, including a secrétaire en cabinet in the Collection of Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild, sold Christie's, London, 8 July 1999, lot 203; a secrétaire á abattant offered Christie's, London, 5 July 2001, lot 102; and a commode sold Sotheby's, Paris, 16 April 2013, lot 135. Vandercruse Lacroix also held several important positions in his guild, and retired from business during the French Revolution.