Chest of drawers with Martin varnish, Paris Louis XV period

Rare chest of drawers opening with two drawers without crosspiece.
Curved in front and on the sides, it rests on four arched feet.
Decoration on three sides with "martin varnish" made with gold and copper powder on a black background to imitate Chinese lacquer from the Kangxi period, with two banks with walkers in traditional costumes in an environment of foliage plants or flutter butterflies.

Beautiful ornamentation of finely chiseled and gilded bronzes including: angle drops, foot slippers, lamp base and keyholes.

"Sarrancolin" marble top with double moldings. (posterior)

Frame and bottom in oak.

Beautiful state of conservation, small usual restorations in the decor.

On the rear bottom, pre-war label of the furniture storage "Maple" in the name of the Countess of Miramon Pesteils.


Parisian work from the Louis XV period around 1750.

Dimensions:

Width: 115cm; Height: 88.5 cm, Depth: 59.5 cm


Our opinion :

The chest of drawers that we are presenting offers us pure lines thanks to ingenious recessed crosspieces concealed inside the frame.

The very architectural cutout of the bottom drawer which receives the bottom of the lamp and the rocaille bronzes allow us to date it from the reign of Louis XV, in the 1750s.
The perfection of the assembly and the quality of the oak wood chosen allow us to present it in a beautiful state of conservation, with its original "European varnish".
Thanks to the fame of the two brothers Guillaume and Etienne Simon Martin, the Vernis Martin name gradually replaced that of the time, but it was indeed a "China-style varnish" that was applied to our chest of drawers by one of the numerous varnishing workshops in the Faubourg St Antoine.
Coming from the greatest workshops in Paris, it is similar to the lacquer chest of drawers delivered by Pierre Migeon and represents the quintessence of the Louis XV style, not only in the forms, but also in the decoration, with a good example of oriental taste and the fashion for "chinoiseries" which affected France in the middle of the 18th century.