A NEAR PAIR OF NAPOLEON III ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONY AND LACQUERED COMMODES

The present commodes are faithful reproductions of Jean-Henri Riesener's celebrated suite of furniture commissioned in 1783 for Marie-Antoinette's cabinet intérieur at Château Saint-Cloud. The original and companion sécretaire, 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 commode, formerly in the collection of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and referenced in Pierre Verlet's Les Bronzes Dorés du XVIII Siècle, was sold at Christie's, New York, 21 April 2009, lot 266 ($218,500).

In the case of the aforementioned commode and companion sécretaire sold in 2009, Verlet initially attributes both to Riesener, based solely on their beauty, casting and construction. However, it is upon further inspection that he realizes the lacking MA Garde Meuble stamps as well as the subsequent Saint-Cloud inventory marks which would have secured manufacture and authorship to the celebrated 18th century cabinet-maker (op. cit., pp. 370-373). Though perhaps unintentional, Verlet's initial opinion certainly brings to light the excellent craftsmanship of those ébénistes active during the Second Empire, including the presently unknown maker of thses commodes which bear all the hallmarks of the period.