Offered by Franck Baptiste Paris
Rare solid mahogany cabinet from Honduras opening through two doors on the front.
Each door has three molded panels, with large square recesses with "Greek-style" recesses which are separated
by rectangular recesses placed in the middle part.
Molding work on the exterior and interior of the doors. The rounded uprights are hollowed out and form two
reserves separated by a central oval.
The sides have three rectangular panels. Cornice with dovetails surrounded by bronzes. The whole rests on a
three-legged base forming a plinth.
The interior reveals two shelves and a central gallery with two drawers.
Beautiful ornamentation of finely chiseled bronzes gilded with mercury including ingotières with gadroon
friezes, a keyhole and a lamp end with acanthus scrolls.
Rich wrought steel ironwork including a hand bolt and a bolt lock.
Inner bottom in paneled and molded Hungarian oak, keyed mounting.
Great quality of flamed mahogany from Honduras.
Very good state of preservation.
Stamped "H.RIESENER" on a rear pillar.
Work by the crown cabinetmaker Jean Henri Riesener*, Paris, transition of the Louis XV and Louis XVI eras
circa 1770-1775.
Size:
Height: 222 cm; Width: 169 cm; Depth: 55 cm
Jean-Henri Riesener wardrobes:
- Karl Lagerfeld Collection, Christie's Monaco 29 April 2000, Two stamped wardrobes, lot 35 (3,557,000
francs) and lot 340 (2,237,000 francs).
- Hubert de Givenchy Collection, Christie's Paris, June 17, 2022, An attributed wardrobe, lot 192 (75,600
euros).
Our opinion:
By the quality of these woods, bronzes, ironwork and the precision of its assemblies and its all-sided finish, the
wardrobe we are presenting represents the quintessence of French cabinetmaking of the eighteenth century.
It comes from the royal workshop of the arsenal that Jean Henri Riesener took over after the death of his
colleague Jean François Oeben in 1763. After obtaining his master's degree in 1768, Riesener used his own
stamp and let his imagination run wild.
Our furniture dates from this period when the beginnings of neo-classical were to appear and it is quite
interesting to measure the stylistic advance of Marie Antoinette's future cabinetmaker who had already
switched to classic solid wood furniture.
In the 1760s, some of his colleagues were still devoting themselves to floral marquetry, which they affixed to
furniture with opulent and curved shapes.
This contrast is visible on our wardrobe in the bronzes, which have a frankly Louis XV decoration, even if the
rose of the keyhole and the symmetry of the whole indicate the beginning of a new era.
After several years of apprenticeship in the royal workshop, the young cabinetmaker Riesener perfectly
mastered all the subtleties of his work, he was also lucky enough to have the best wood suppliers and to
collaborate with the best craftsmen of his time. He also had a forge that allowed him to produce steel rods and
bolts for his system furniture.
This sum of skills enabled him to brilliantly complete the famous cylinder desk of King Louis XV, which he
presented to the monarch in 1769. Our wardrobe dates from the years following this delivery and we can
therefore imagine a collaboration of bronze workers such as Louis-Barthélémy Hervieux and Étienne Forestier
for the design of the bronze ornaments which had opened a few years earlier on the royal desk.
Of the handful of well-known cabinets, ours seems to be the earliest and the only one from the Louis XV
period, the others dating from the years 1775-1780.
In terms of provenance, which is highly prestigious but unknown to us, we can mention the wardrobe from the
Lagerfeld collection which is described in the inventory of Baron de Baulny (1744-1812) who was Grand
Treasurer of France.
This origin probably tells us that this type of wardrobe is not a bedroom furniture used to store linen but rather
a cabinet used in a professional setting.
*Jean-Henri Riesener (4 July 1734 – 6 January 1806) was a French cabinetmaker of German origin. Originally
from Westphalia, Riesener left his native country in 1755 to train as a cabinetmaker in France. In Paris, he
entered the studio of Jean-François Oeben, also a German immigrant.
On the death of his master in 1763, Riesener took over the management of the workshop. Not yet having its
own master's degree, he used the "J-F Oeben" stamp until 1767. Some of his furniture therefore bears the name
of his predecessor.
Riesener was made master in 1768. Very quickly, the cabinetmaker became very famous and supplied the royal
court. This great success gave him the title in 1774 of "cabinet maker in ordinary to the king". It was also he
who completed Louis XV's famous cylinder secretary, begun by Oeben nine years earlier. Considered one of
the best representatives of the transitional style, its luxurious neo-classical style furniture was very popular with
Queen Marie-Antoinette.
His success was such that Riesener became the fashionable cabinetmaker and knew customers in all the courts
of Europe. After the Revolution, Riesener lost all its customers.
His studio closed in 1801.
His son, Henri-François Riesener (1767-1828), a painter, was one of David's pupils.
