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Provenance: Joseph-Hyacinthe-François de Paule de Rigaud, Comte de Vaudreuil, Grand Fauconnier de France, (1740-1817), recorded in his bedroom, rue de la Chaise, Paris; sold, Paris, November 26, 1787, lot 360 (Mme. Gorman 1201 livres).
Anonymous sale, Paris, April 6, 1789 lot 267 (1200 livres to Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun (1748-1813) dealer and garde des tableaux du Comte d'Artois et du duc d'Orléans).
Vincent Donjeux, "ancien négociant de tableaux et curiosités", sold, Paris, April 29, 1793, lot 553.
Thomas Philip, 2nd Lord de Grey (1781-1859), and thence by descent in the family at Newby Hall, Yorkshire
Kraemer, Paris
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Literature: S. Thiery, Guide des Etrangers Voyageurs à Paris, 1787, pp. 544 and 548.
Christopher Hussey, English Country Houses: Mid-Georgian 1760-1800, 1984, p. 144, pl. 288.
Newby Hall, Visitor's Guide, p. 11.
A. Pradère, Les ébénistes Français de Louis XIV à la révolution, Paris, 1989, p. 86.
This commode will appear in the forthcoming book on the work of Boulle being prepared by Jean Nérée Ronfort, André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) so Vie et son Oeuvre, to appear in 2006.
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Notes: E.J. CUVELLIER
Little is known of the work of Cuvellier, not even the date upon which he received his maîtrise; he appears to have been active between 1750-1780. His stamp appears on a Louis XVI ormolu-mouned ebony bureau plat, formerly in the collection of Anthony de Rothschild and sold, Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, December 15, 1983, lot 46. His stamp also appears on a Louis XV secrétaire à abattant now in the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, and on a secrétaire de voyage sold at auction in Paris, December 15, 1950. Since each of these pieces can be attributed to more celebrated cabinet-makers, it is logical to assume that Cuvellier employed his stamp in his capacity as a restorer.
The present commode was raised in height and fitted with its present marble top prior to 1787. This can be confirmed by the fact that the current measurements match those taken when the commode was sold from the Vaudreuil collection in 1787, as does the description of the bleu turquin marble. It is therefore logical to assume that this modification was undertaken by Cuvellier probably with the aim of conforming to the taste of the time, following the instructions of the Comte de Vaudreuil. In comparing the present commode with other recorded examples, it can be established that the height was increased by approximately 6cm. (2 3/8in.) The two commodes in the Louvre measure 86cm high each, as does another comparable example sold, Sotheby's, London, December 7, 2000, lot 88.
BOULLE'S 'TABLE EN BUREAU'
The "table en bureau" which first appeared around 1690 marks an important step in the evolution of the commode which is descended from the table by way of the writing table and the desk. The central area of the present commode is an almost vestigial reminder of the bureau Mazarin which preceded it around 1670 and which generally had a slightly recessed center between two sets of drawers. Like their predecessors, the group of commodes to which the present lot belongs, had veneered tops as, more than likely, did the present commode. Boulle would continue to refine the design of the commode, evolving around 1710 into the so-called bureau en commode, and later simply commode. Many of his later commodes incorporate the same ormolu borders around the drawers, acanthus leaves around the legs and masks found on the present lot.
A number of these commodes were recorded in 18th century sales (A. Pradère, 'L'ameublement du Marquis de Marigny vers 1780', L'Estampille/L'Objet d'Art, June 1986, p.51):
Crozat de Thiers sale in 1772, no. 1114
Marigny Sale in 1782, no.583. This commode, no.1635 in the Livre-Journal of Lazare Duvaux was acquired by Madame de Pompadour and probably subsequently offered to her brother on December 24, 1753.
Le Boeuf Sale in 1783, no. 206 a pair, and no. 207
Lebrun Sale in 1791, no. 1008 sold for 450 livres
Choiseul-Praslin sale, April 3, 1793, no. 245 sold for 402 livres
The present commode belongs to a group of more or less identical examples, two of which, from the Le Boeuf sale, are in the Musée du Louvre, Paris, illustrated, D. Alcouffe, A. Dion-Tennenbaum & A. Lefébure, Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Dijon, 1993, Vol. I, nos. 24, 25, pp. 91-95. One executed in contre-partie, (no. 24, OA5478)) with a veneered top was, as the time of the Restauration owned by the Duchesse de Berry, daughter-in-law of Charles X. In 1829 she exchanged it at the Mobilier de la Couronne together with a number of other pieces decorated with Boulle marquetry. The other commode in première partie marquetry (no. 25, OA5477) has a marble top. It was purchased from the Parisian dealer Rocheux in 1805 for the palace of Fontainebleau and later placed in the Château de Saint-Cloud. There are differences between the two commodes: no. 25 has some additional ormolu mounts not present on no. 24, and the design of marquetry on the legs is different. The present lot also has slightly different marquetry design on the legs, the marquetry on the drawer fronts of the present lot and no. 24 is nearly identical, as are the ormolu borders around the drawers, handles, and the acanthus leaf mounts on the legs and the apron. Each has a Bacchic mask on the front and female mask on the sides which, in each case, is slightly different.
A fourth comparable commode reputed to have been owned by Marquis Ferdinand de Ghistelles (1735-1813) was sold from a private Parisian collection, Sotheby's, London, December 7, 2000 (£620,000); now fitted with a plain top, the design of its marquetry panels is identical to those on the commode in the Louvre (OA5478), and with nearly identical ormolu mounts.
A commode fitted with a later superstructure forming a fall-front secrétaire, stamped E.Levasseur, is in the British Royal Collection at Windsor Castle (Guy Laking, The Furniture at Windsor Castle, London, 1905, p. 120). Also, previously in the Comte de Vaudreuil's collection, it was acquired by the Prince of Wales and originally stood in the ante-room at Carlton House; it was moved to Windsor Castle in 1827.
A pair, one in première partie the other in contre partie is in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensbury at Bowhill, Selkirk. Illustrated, John Cornforth, 'Bowhill, Selkirk II', in Country Life, June 12, 1974, partly visible p. 1559 in the dining room.
A commode in première partie, formerly in the collection of Victor de Rothschild at his London residence, sold Sotheby's, April 19, 1937, lot 251 - later altered as a dressing table.
A commode from the collection of Lady Cholmondeley, sold, Christie's, London, December 6, 1979, lot 137 - subsequently destroyed by fire.
A commode in contre partie formerly in the collection of Sir John Murray Scott, rue Lafitte, Paris. Illustrated, A.E. Morris, 'Sir John Scott's Collection in the Rue Lafitte', Connoisseur, August 1910, p. 233, fig. III.
A commode in contre partie, formerly in the collection of the Earls Cowper, Panshanger, Hertfordshire, and then by descent to Rosemary, Lady Ravensdale, sold Christie's, London, June 22, 1989, lot 108.
Two commodes both in première partie are in a private collection in Paris, one, the only known example retaining its top in première partie, was formerly in the collection of José Maria Sert; the other with a red porphyry top was sold from the Jean Bloch collection, Paris, June 132, 1941, lot 140. Both of these commodes were exhibited, Sotheby's, Paris, Trésors des Collections Privés, March 1998.
