Commode with Bérain-style decoration in imitation of Boulle marquetry

A very rare commode with Bérain-style decoration in imitation of Boulle marquetry, resting on four small feet. The entire chest of drawers is covered with gold varnish on a black background, richly decorated with floral motifs, scrolls and birds, lambrequins and vases. The chest of drawers is topped by a top echoing the decorations on the front. The chest opens with three lockable drawers. It is trimmed with gilded and chased bronzes for the key escutcheons and pull handles.
First quarter 18th century
Restoration
H. 81 x W. 119 x D. 61.5 cm

The chest of drawers in our study is particularly interesting, given the rarity of furniture with this type of decoration. In fact, the decorations it presents are the fruit of a collaboration between the cabinetmaker and the varnisher: they were decorating cabinets and chests of drawers in "Chinese-style varnish" as early as the second half of the 17th century. This early imitation in the history of the decorative arts (more widely diffused from the Louis XV period with "Martin varnish") is all the more appreciable on a Louis XIV commode. The process sought to imitate rare and precious Asian lacquers. In keeping with the tastes of the period, Bérain-style ornamentation, very much in evidence in Boulle marquetry, takes pride of place here. Boulle marquetry, characterized by the combined and interchangeable use of scale and brass panels, is imitated in our case by the use of a gold varnish giving the characteristic effect of gilded copper ornamentation.
Few pieces of furniture like this have come down to us. However, we can cite a commode preserved at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, reproduced and explained in the following two books: "Le Mobilier français, Louis XIII - Louis XIV" (Massin Editions) and "Les secrets de la laque française, le vernis Martin" (Les arts décoratifs Editions).