EARLY LOUIS XV FLAT DESK, CIRCA 1725 In rosewood... Lot 30

EARLY LOUIS XV FLAT DESK, CIRCA 1725 In rosewood and amaranth veneer, chased and varnished bronze ornamentation, gilt leather top, the belt opening by three drawers, the sides decorated with female masks, the cambered legs surmounted by satyrs masks; small accidents H. 79 cm (31 in.) l. : 200 cm (78 ¾ in.) P. 92 cm (36 ¼ in.) Provenance: Sotheby's Monaco sale, October 25, 1981, lot 100 ; Acquired during the latter by the parents of the present owner; Italian private collection. An early Louis XV gilt-varnish mounted, tulipwood and amaranth bureau plat, circa 1725 * Information to buyers: For an exit from the EU, a re-export CITES may be required, this being at the expense of the future purchaser. * Information to buyers: For an exit from the EU, a CITES re-export certificate will be necessary, at the buyer's expense. This important flat desk, executed during the first years of the reign of Louis XV, still retains reminiscences of the great flat desks of the Regency, particularly those made by André-Charles Boulle, around 1710-1720. It belongs to a small group of desks, probably executed by a very good cabinetmaker like Noël Gérard (†1732) or Etienne Doirat (†1736). Thus, a desk that belonged to the naturalist George-Louis Leclerc, Count of Buffon (1707-1788), whose after-death inventory mentions in his apartment in the King's Garden, "a large veneered desk lined with black morocco at the front of its drawers, with copper ornamentation" and which remained in his descendants until its sale, on April 9, 2008, by Sotheby's in Paris, under the number 84. The appearance of the latter desk would indicate a slightly later execution, whereas on ours, the curves of the drawers more harmoniously marrying the belt of the piece of furniture, place it, stylistically, towards the end of the Regency and during the early years of the reign of Louis XV. Despite the curvature of the legs and a composition comparable to that of our piece, we find rather austere lines on even older desks, which are stamped by Noël Gérard, such as the one sold by Sotheby's New York, October 19, 2002, n°105, or which are attributed to this cabinetmaker, such as the one sold by Sotheby's London, December 4, 2007, n°50. On these two desks, the falls with busts of women are directly inspired by Boulle's bronzes, as is the case with the female mask topped with palmettes that decorates each side of our desk. Finally, it presents similarities with another desk sold at the Palais Galliera by Me Ader, on June 9, 1972, n°14, then at Christie's London, on December 2, 1976, n°76 and with a second one, attributed to Antoine Gaudreaus, sold at Christie's London, on July 6, 2016, n°135. Let us also mention the masks of bearded men wearing palmettes that form the gilt bronze falls of our desk, which are identical to those present on a chest of drawers from the Duke of Westminster's furnishings, sold at Christie's London, July 5, 2007, n°38.