Offered by Franck Baptiste Paris
Large console table in gilded lime wood.
Four-legged model with a curved crossbow front and rear offset sides.
It rests on arched legs bordered with foliage and flowers which are finished with powerful scrolls hemmed with acanthus.
The upper part of the uprights is hollowed out with concave rock garden reserves.
The inside of the feet is decorated with falling leaves on a lattice background delicately engraved in the finishes.
The thick central crosspiece is made of joined “C” clasps, it is bordered with openwork “cockscomb” shells and acanthus; the central part has a large rocaille reserve decorated with an exploded pomegranate.
The side rails are scalloped and decorated with stylized openwork acanthus.
The junction of the legs and the crosspieces features a rare decoration of palm leaves.
Beautiful state of conservation, original gilding with scattered touch-ups.
Beautiful original white purple veined marble of the “Medici breccia” type, with double corbin beak which perfectly matches the shape of the console.
Rhône Valley, Louis XV period around 1750.
Origin: Castle in central France.
A console from the same workshop and from the collection of the Marquise de Roumanet de Lestrange at the Château de la Faurie in Ardèche, went on sale in Paris. (Christies, December 13, 2006, lot 199, 54,000 euros).
In addition to a similar size (154 cm) and crossbow shape, it has an extremely similar decorative repertoire, with an exploded grenade in the center and feet with identical decoration.
Dimensions:
Width: 154 cm; Depth: 65 cm; Height: 83 cm
Our opinion :
The console that we are presenting dates from the rockery period, the one where the opulent shapes are adorned with abundant flora.
This tangle of plants held in balance by simple braces is the very essence of the Louis XV style.
The presence of an exploded pomegranate, symbol of fertility and fecundity, as well as the asymmetry of the decoration allow us to date it from the mid-18th century.
Some reminiscences of the Regency style, such as the decoration of palm leaves and the engraved trellis, direct us more precisely towards a production of the decade 1740-1750.
The archetype of our console is from Lyon, as is the type of lime used for the frame, but the large dimensions of the crossbar, the abundance of the decoration and its exuberance are characteristic elements of productions from the Rhône valley. .
Many workshops located between Lyon and Avignon offered ceremonial pieces in gilded wood, including sets of mirrors and consoles, which were highly sought after in Provence.
Under the reign of Louis XV, this production was largely inspired by the drawings of the ornamentalist Juste Aurèle Meisonnier (1695-1750).
The very accomplished line of our console represents the perfect example of its style, both in form and in decor.
The Meisonnier family came from Aix en Provence but the young Juste Aurèle was born in Turin where his father, a goldsmith, worked for the court of Savoy.
Architect, painter and goldsmith, he was in contact with the artistic elite from a very young age and he returned to France very steeped in Italian Baroque.
He quickly established himself as one of the greatest masters of the rocaille style and signed the designs of the most beautiful famous pieces produced under the reign of Louis XV.
