A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED AMARANTH, MAHOGANY AND BURR-AMBOYNA PARQUETRY VITRINE CABINET-ON-STAND

Etienne-Simon-Eugène Roudillon is first recorded as being an established tapissier-ébéniste in Paris in 1844 (see D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Français du XIXe Siècle, Paris, 1984, pp. 563-4). The business grew rapidly and in 1853 Roudillon took over the firm of tapissiers, Ringuet-Leprince, and set up ateliers at 9, rue Caumartin, employing more than five hundred workers. Particularly inspired by furniture of the Louis XIV period, Roudillon was renowned for adherence to a particular style and the historical verity of their productions (O. Lacroix, Expositions Internationales Londres 1872: Beaux-arts et beaux-arts appliqués à l'industrie, Paris, 1872, pp. 43-44). The firm was represented at nearly all the major exhibitions of the second half of the 19th century, frequently winning awards for their “charming furniture” (D. Ledoux-Lebard, 564). In 1880 Roudillon sold his business to Renault & Cie., which in turn became Alavoine & Co. in 1890. The present lot is particularly interesting as it reflects this transitional period for the company. The cabinet-on-stand was almost certainly conceived as one, however the reverse of the vitrine is stamped 'E. RENAULT & CIE', while the stand is stamped 'MSON ROUDILLON / ALAVOINE & CO / PARIS'. It is therefore most likely that this model was made to Roudillon's design by both Renault and Alavoine after the acclaimed tapissier-ébéniste had sold the company. The inclusion of 'Alavoine & Cie' in the maker's stamp indicates that the stand was not made, or the unit as a whole at least retailed, no earlier than 1890.