FRANCE, SECONDE MOITIÉ DU XVIIIe SIÈCLE Lot n° 49

DOOR FURNITURE Lemon wood veneer, rosewood and amaranth, Breche d'Alep marble H. 92cm, W. 140 cm, D. 83 Refurbished This door chest of drawers with very sober lines has a front and sides made of a lemon wood fern frieze framed by rosewood fillets underlined by meandering fillets. The geometrical lines of this décor are delicately enhanced by a floral composition in stained wood marquetry, the colour of which has withstood the ravages of time. The corners are adorned with a spouting vase decoration and an antique style wall light. The keyhole, the hooves and the cul-de-lampe in chased and gilded bronze have a rocaille style decoration, proof that this piece of furniture is truly between two ages, between two styles. If the chest of drawers was born at the end of the 17th century thanks to André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), it is under the reign of Louis XV (1715-1774) that many variants were created: commode-offices and chests of drawers with leaves or doors as here. Finally, the floral marquetry decoration is fully in keeping with the aesthetics in fashion in the 1760s/1770s, following the example of the work of Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763) and his pupils, Jean-François Leleu (1729-1807) and Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806).