A trapezoidal-plan commode in satin-finish... - Lot 25 - SGL Enchères - Frédéric Laurent de Rummel et Peggy Savidan

A trapezoidal-plan commode in satin-finish and marquetry of lattice work, and chased and gilded bronzes, with movement on the front and sides, opening to two drawers and two side leaves, decorated with openwork cartouche, palms and flower falls, the Sarrancolin marble top resting on curved uprights terminating in cambered feet and adorned with foliage, flower and cartouche falls; number in ink of the Garde-meuble de la Couronne: n°1131; (small chips). By Charles Cressent (1685-1768). Louis XV period. H : 89 cm - W : 149 cm - D : 66 cm Provenance : Delivered on August 4, 1738 by Robert Antoine Gaudreaus (1680-1751), cabinetmaker to the Crown, under no. 1131 for King Louis XV's bedroom at the Château de la Muette, in place at least until 1775, probably Carl Mayer de Rothschild (1820-1886), his daughter, Marguerite, duchesse de Gramont (1855-1905), her husband, Duke Agénor de Gramont (1851-1925), her son, Louis René, comte de Gramont (1883-1963), his sale in Paris, galerie Charpentier, étude Ader, June 15, 1934, no. 88, former Léo Finck collection, owner of Forvil perfumes, then by succession to the current owners. Bibliography: J. Nicolay, L'art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes français au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1956, p. 112. D. Alcouffe, Musée du Louvre, nouvelles acquisitions du département des objets d'art, 1980-1984, Paris, 1985, p. 74. A. Pradère, "Les commodes à palmes et fleurs de Cressent", Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, Paris, 2001, p. 115-131. A. Pradère, Charles Cressent, Dijon, 2003, p. 149-151 and p. 277. D. Alcouffe, Antoine Robert Gaudreaus, ébéniste de Louis XV, Dijon, 2021, p. 414. The history of 18th-century furniture in France owes the identification of this commode to Alexandre Pradère, on the occasion of his article on Cressent's commodes à palmes et fleurs in 2001. Known and reproduced since the Gramont sale in 1934, neither the sale catalog nor subsequent publications mentioned its prestigious provenance. This identification is based on an extract from the Journal du Garde-Meuble. Extract from the Journal du garde-meuble de la Couronne, August 4, 1738: "Delivered by Gaudreaus. Pour servir dans la chambre du nouvel appartement du Roi au château de la Muette. N°1131. Une belle commode de différents bois des Indes à placages, enrichie de palmes, guirlandes de fleurs ; mains, entrées de serrures et autres ornemens de relief de bronze doré d'or moulu, ayant par avant deux tiroirs et sur les côtés deux guichets, le tout fermant à clé, la commode à dessus de marbre d'Antin portée sur quatre pieds à roulots et à griffes de lyon, longue de quatre pieds et demi sur 24 pouces de profondeur et trente trois pouces de haut ". I- The Château de la Muette. The Château de la Muette, as it appeared under the reign of Louis XV, did not survive the 18th century. Largely destroyed in 1793, notably the central body, the complex was subsequently redeveloped in the 19th century and rebuilt in the 20th century by Baron Henri de Rothschild. Located between today's Rue de Franqueville, Rue André Pascal and Porte de la Muette, Château de la Muette was acquired by the young Louis XV around 1720, when the king was just ten years old. It was at La Muette that he learned to ride and went hunting for the first time. It was at La Muette that he first concealed his affair with Madame de Mailly, before making it official in 1736, and then succumbing to the charms of her sister, the future Countess de Vintimille. He is known to have stayed there more than eleven times in 1738, and twenty-one times in 1739. It is also interesting to note that the chest of drawers and corner cabinet in blue and white varnish by Matthieu Criaerd were delivered in 1742 by the merchant Thomas Joachim Hébert to the Château de Choisy for the Countess de Mailly. The brick-and-stone château, a gift from Charles IX to Queen Margot, had already undergone several alterations in the 18th century. In 1737, it was enlarged by doubling the courtyard façade (retaining the brick facing) by architect Jacques V Gabriel (1667-1742). Work resumed in 1739, this time on the garden side (illustration 1), and saw the demolition of what remained of the old château (our warmest thanks to Mr. François Gilles, author of the entry on the Château de la Muette in the forthcoming 2024 book on the sculptor Nicolas Pineau, for the information he was kind enough to share with us). II- The commode at Château de la Muette: the king's bedroom The king's apartment comprised an antechamber, a bedroom (with its wardrobe) and a study. The king's bedroom, lightning