A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BLACK AND GILT CHINESE LACQUER COMMODE
Lot 1224

A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BLACK AND GILT CHINESE LACQUER COMMODE

ATTRIBUTED TO MATHIEU CRIAERD, CIRCA 1750

Closed31 March 2016

Price Realised

USD 112,500

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A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BLACK AND GILT CHINESE LACQUER COMMODE
ATTRIBUTED TO MATHIEU CRIAERD, CIRCA 1750
With serpentine breche d'alep marble top above two long drawers decorated with birds in a landscape, on cabriole legs, the Chinese lacquer with some European embellishments, some framing mounts stamped with numbers and letters, and probably replaced
34 ½ in. (87.5 cm.) high, 56 ¼ in. (143 cm.) wide, 25 ¼ in. (64 cm.) deep

Acquired from Frank Partridge and Sons, London, in 1977.
Eugenia Woodward Hitt Collection.

Specialist note

The delicate frame of scrolling foliate and rocaille mounts in the present commode suggests that it belongs to a very well-defined group of lacquer commodes by Matthieu Criaerd. They feature the same fiddle-shaped central cartouche with some subtle variations along with striking and fanciful panels of polychrome lacquer.
Amongst the lacquer commodes of this type, notable examples include one from the Grog-Carven collection in the Louvre (exh. cat. Cinq années d'enrichissement du Patrimoine national 1975-1980, Grand Palais 1980-1981, No. 77; Alcouffe a.o., No. 46), an example sold at Sotheby's Monaco, 22 June 1987, Lot 544 (A. Pradère, Les Ebénistes Français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, Paris 1989, fig. 221) and one sold at Christie’s London, 17 May 2006, lot 180.
Variations of this tripartite front were produced by a number of ebenistes that must have all shared a single marchand-mercier, who, presumably, invented the design, commissioned the mounts and attracted the attention of the Royal family. This prototype was commissioned by Thomas-Joachim Hébert, who delivered a series of tripartite commodes by various makers including Bernard II van Risenburgh.