Live Auction 2435500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe, including Oriental Carpets
A NAPOLEON III ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONIZED AND GILT-DECORATED BLACK LACQUER SECRETAIRE A ABATTANT
Lot 293

A NAPOLEON III ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONIZED AND GILT-DECORATED BLACK LACQUER SECRETAIRE A ABATTANT

AFTER THE MODEL BY JEAN-HENRI RIESENER, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Closed15 April 2011

Price Realised

USD 62,500

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A NAPOLEON III ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONIZED AND GILT-DECORATED BLACK LACQUER SECRETAIRE A ABATTANT
AFTER THE MODEL BY JEAN-HENRI RIESENER, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY
The breakfront black granite top above a foliate frieze centred with the monogram MA, above a rectangular fall-front decorated with perched birds and flowering branches, the interior with six short drawers and a leather writing surface, the angles mounted with trailing foliage and scrolled acanthus, the lower section set with a pair of cupboard doors enclosing a shelf, the sides similarly inset with panels depicting pagodas and stylized landscapes, above a shaped apron centered with a floral wreath, on acanthus-sheathed supports
57 in. (144.8 cm.) high, 45½ in. (115.5 cm.) wide, 17¼ in. (44 cm.) deep

Specialist note

The present sécretaire is a faithful reproduction of Jean-Henri Riesener's celebrated suite of furniture commissioned in 1783 for Marie Antoinette's cabinet intérieur at Saint-Cloud. The original and a companion commode, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are among the highlights of the Museum's collection and are considered to be the 'jewel in the crown' of Riesener's oeuvre. A similar Napoleon III secrétaire, referenced in Pierre Verlet's Les Bronzes Dorés du XVIII Siècle, was sold at Christie's, New York, 21 April 2009, lot 269 ($158,500).