Louis XV marquetry commode stamped by Antoine Mathieu Criaerd

Louis XV period marquetry Chest of drawers (rosewood and green tinted wood spandrels in amaranth frames). Beautiful chiseled and ormolu bronzes (original) typical of the rococo taste. It opens by 2 drawers and is topped with a beautiful Aleppo breccia marble. Louis XV period, circa 1750. Stamp of Antoine Mathieu Criard and JME.

Antoine Mathieu Criard (or Criaerd), born in 1724, received master on April 22, 1747, died in 1787. He was the son of Mathieu Criaerd and thus a member of the most prestigious dynasty of Parisian cabinetmakers of the first half of the 18th century.
He opened his own workshop in 1749, two years after his own mastery, successively on rue de Charenton, rue de Richelieu and rue Saint Thomas-du-Louvre before settling permanently on Rue du Bac where he succeeded his colleague Charles Chevallier. He produced fine quality Louis XV furniture, in rosewood veneer, violet wood or leaf veneer, inlaid with flowers or branches in often raw and broken tones. There are only a few pieces of furniture in the Transition style and none in the Louis XVI style, which would seem to prove that Antoine-Mathieu Criard did not continue his activity as a cabinetmaker for long.
We know in his production 2 successive stamps : The stamp of M. CRIARD is reproduced in SALVERTE, Editions de Nobele 1975 page 77 which specifies that its oldest productions carry the mark where appears the initial M. of its usual first name. The present stamp on our chest of drawers is the second with the "AM".

Our commode is a very beautiful model of its kind and bears all the characteristics of a great master cabinetmaker's production : choice of materials (marquetry, finely chiseled bronzes, use of a luxury marble), elegance of lines and curves, quality of veneers and marquetry (the framed "scalloped pattern" of the front is typical of the production of Mathieu Criaerd father and sons : the same structure can be found on the famous blue chest of drawers made for Countess de Mailly which is now exhibited in the Louvre museum), but also characteristics of careful and conscientious work, details hidden from view that can only be found in the productions of the greatest cabinetmakers: the crosspieces under the marble and at the back are molded.

Excellent condition, restored furniture, new varnish, intact marble, the bronzes have kept their original gilding.

Height 86cm
Length 127cm
Depth 63 cm