Elegant Sideboard Chest of Drawers Stamped by Fidelis Schey

Stamped by Fidelis Schey Master in 1777
Louis XVI period


Although there are many half-moon chests of drawers with doors on the sides, this type of chest of drawers was made at the end of the 18th century in very few examples. Compared to a traditional chest of drawers, this piece of furniture has a reduced depth; in addition, it offers a storage in desserts, but also with drawers, two other very appreciated advantages in a dining room. Like a classic console, this special order has a white marble top and the rounded sides are open, also with the same marble and galleries, originally intended to hold silverware or ceramic displays. However, this piece of furniture offers much more storage space than a simple sideboard, and has a superb chest of drawers front.

Fidelis (or Fidelys) SCHEY was a cabinetmaker who almost exclusively produced furniture in mahogany, to which he took extreme care. His lines are pure and his mahogany from Cuba is always of the highest quality. Like other German cabinetmakers, his work is characterised by great precision and impeccable finish. "Fidelis Schey's main production is mahogany furniture, which he works in full wood with extreme delicacy and which he knows how to decorate with sober and fine bronzes" (Jean Nicolay, Tome I)

The façade appears flat, but it is not: at the ends, it is slightly curved to engage the roundness of the sides. The fluted uprights are powerful, well-proportioned to the dimensions of the furniture. To structure the line of the chest, the two lower drawers are "crossbarless" and the bronze frame that joins them reinforces the visual effect. In the upper row, Schey used finely chiselled and gilded bronze frames on the three drawers to further structure the line and emphasise the colour of the mahogany. The two drawers on the sides do not have a lock: they open automatically by means of pushers hidden under the belt and by springs that are also hidden. This little extra refinement corroborates the signature of a great master and the making of a commanding piece of furniture.

Generally speaking, the ornamentation of the bronzes is very finely chiselled, and the gilding is in a remarkably fresh state. The condition of this piece of furniture is excellent, it has been perfectly restored and presents only restorations of use and maintenance.