A NAPOLEON III ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY AND AMARANTH PEDESTAL

One of the most renowned ébénistes of the July Monarchy and Second Empire periods, Guillaume Grohé (d. 1885) received commissions from many of the époque's most important patrons including King Louis-Philippe, Queen Victoria, Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie. His works - made largely in collaboration with his elder brother Jean-Michel Grohé with whom he partnered from 1829 to 1861 - graced many an important residence including the Palais des Tuileries, the Château Fontainebleau, the Château de Compiègne, Chantilly and Chenonceaux. In addition to the characteristic use of the ram's mask and exceptional level of cisleur to the bronzes, the fanciful angle pendants relate closely to those on a cabinet exhibited by Grohé at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1867 and again on a lacquer cabinet of the same form sold at Koller, Switzerland, 23 June 2010, lot 1332.