Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
REQUEST INFORMATION
Rare master chest of drawers in solid mahogany opening with three drawers.
Tomb-shaped model, that is to say curved concave and convex in plan and elevation, on the facade and on the sides.
The drawer fronts decorated with two deeply molded reserves separated by a central medallion.
The sides have three panels separated by two crosspieces.
The thick uprights with two registers molded in elegy are extended by strongly arched feet which are terminated by small snail-shaped scrolls.
The side and front rails are nervously scrolled and molded.
The chest of drawers is topped with a thick monoxyl top.
Backs and interiors of drawers in solid oak.
Original brass handle.
Beautiful state of conservation; small usual restorations to the legs and corners of the drawers.
Masterpiece of accession to the mastery of a cabinetmaker from La Rochelle, Louis XV period around 1750-1770.
Dimensions:
Width: 56 cm; Height: 44 cm; Depth: 31 cm
Our opinion :
The small chest of drawers that we are presenting is not a “modello”, that is to say an advertising model that the cabinetmaker presented to his customers to allow them to visualize their future orders; but indeed his masterpiece created during his apprenticeship.
At that time, accession to mastery required presenting such a document to the representatives of the corporation; it allowed other members to judge the technical level of the apprentice and possibly grant him the necessary qualification for his installation.
The design of these “reception pieces” differs completely from the advertising “modellos” which are hastily assembled, glued, nailed, etc.
Here the assembly is identical in all respects to the full-size model, assemblies with dowels, mortises and tenons, and dovetails for the drawers; with panels for the funds.
The assembly, the great finesse of the snails, the double molding of the crosspieces are all clues which demonstrate the great refinement of our chest of drawers.
As is often the case with these masterpieces, the handles were made to measure with a master ironworker, to perfect the model.
The unique belt which highlights the top drawer, the great height of the feet, the finesse of the snails and the very nervous cut of the crosspieces direct us towards the north of Aquitaine, more precisely towards the city of La Rochelle which was one of the great homes of port cabinetmaking.
Our chest of drawers combines the power of the tomb-shaped curves of Bordeaux chests of drawers with the delicacy of the moldings of Nantes furniture.
This double influence is characteristic of Rochelais furniture.
These masterpieces are extremely rare today, especially those made from exotic wood because these precious species were very expensive at the time.
They were not intended for sale, the masters carefully preserved them throughout their lives before passing them on to their descendants, which makes them unique.
This extreme rarity was reinforced by the fact that the sons of masters had the privilege of accessing mastery without presenting reception pieces.
