A FINE PAIR OF FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED PLUM-PUDDING MAHOGANY AND EBONY COMMODES AUX VANTAUX

Guillaume Benneman was one of Marie-Antoinette’s preferred makers. He created splendid furniture during the final years of the ancien régime for the Château de Versailles, the Palais des Tuileries and the Château Saint-Cloud for prestigious clients including Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and the comte de Provence. Like many ébénistes in the 18th century, his works were the product of artistic collaboration, and his confrères included the likes of bronziers Thomire, Ravrio and Feuchère. The pair of commodes he created for Marie-Antoinette, the inspiration for the present lot, was part of a series of eight which were ultimately transformed through a complex and costly process from a group of four begun by Joseph Stöckel. The pair at Fontainebleau were originally destined for Marie-Antoinette’s bedroom at the Château de Compiègne, and later placed in her salon des jeux at the Château de Fontainebleau, a room of superlative neo-classical design with wall panels painted with delicate arabesques.

This popular model was widely copied in varying degrees of quality throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 19th century, the international elite would, no doubt, have understood the importance of this model as they hastened to furnish their grand residences in a style reminiscent of the splendid rooms of Fontainebleau. A number of leading Parisian cabinetmakers of the 19th century produced faithful replicas of the model, underscoring its influence on the history of the French decorative arts. Another similar commode was sold from a private European collection, Christie’s, London, 22 September 2011, lot 32 (£73,250). A further example, by François Linke, sold Château - A Distinguished American Collection of Important 19th Century Furniture & Works of Art; Christie’s, London, 28 October 2014, lot 7 (£74,500).