Attribué à ADAM WEISWEILER (Neuwied, 1744 - Paris,... Lot n° 89

BONHEUR-DU-JOUR Paris, Louis XVI period, circa 1785-1790 Oak and mahogany frame; burr amboyna, mahogany and lemon tree veneers; amaranth fillets; gilt bronze and brass; green morocco; grey veined white marble H. 106 cm, W. 69.5 cm, D. 42 cm PROVENANCE Private property in the Cher valley This desk, more commonly known as a "bonheur-du-jour", made of burr amboyna and mahogany, opens on the belt with a large drawer with a flap forming a writing desk, lined with green morocco and placed in front of four small drawers made of solid mahogany with lemon tree veneered fronts framed with amaranth fillets. The belt rests on a base with baluster shafts with gilded brass flutes and convexes, joined at the lower level by a notched spacer shelf, with a grey veined white marble top, flanked on three sides by a delicate openwork gallery and supported by four high tapered and fluted legs, enriched with rings and plain bronze shoes. The upper tier is crowned by a grey veined white marble top, bordered by a gallery with a double frieze of openwork circles and interlacing, which is integrated into a doucine veneered in burr amboyna. Two tripartite bronze columns, the central part protruding, flank the front step. It opens to a leaf, revealing an interior also veneered in lemon tree, enhanced with amaranth fillets. Framing with interlacing and pearl motifs, friezes of lanceolate leaves and scrapers complete the ornamentation of the piece of furniture, richly decorated with bronzes. Our precious happiness belongs to a very small series of similar pieces of furniture made around 1785-1790 by Adam Weisweiler for the merchant Dominique Daguerre. Two other of these rare pieces are now in major international public collections. The first, in the Mobilier National, is veneered in elm burl, thuja and moiré mahogany (fig. 1). It was honoured during the brilliant exhibition devoted to the Fastes du pouvoir, organised at the Galerie des Gobelins in 2007. The second, which comes from the former collection of the Baroness of Gunzburg, was acquired by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles in 1972 (sale in Paris, Palais Galliera). It is further embellished with medallions in Wedgwood biscuit but veneered, like ours, with burr amboyna (fig. 2). Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820) is known as one of the most famous cabinetmakers of the Louis XVI period. Originally from Germany, he was received as a master in 1778 and established himself on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine where he distinguished himself from his colleagues by the quality of his furniture and its particularly luxurious character. He delivered several pieces of furniture for Marie-Antoinette at the Petit-Trianon, then at Saint-Cloud from 1785. His success was ensured by the relations he established with the great merchant-merchants of the Saint-Honoré district, in particular Dominique Daguerre (circa 1740-1796) who imported Wedgwood's plates to Paris for the decoration of furniture. His rich European clientele enabled him to get through the Revolution without a hitch: he was still in full swing under the Empire.