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Lot Essay
Veneered with precious Japanese lacquer and enriched with expertly-chased ormolu mounts, these elegant console tables are a superb example of the fruitful collaboration between the Parisian marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre and the ébéniste Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820). Executed in Etruscan-black ebony accentuated by clean lines of brass and pewter banding, the consoles are an exercise in sophistication and understatement. Distinguished by their restrained architectural character, the tables epitomize the refined Louis XVI 'antique' or Pompeian style promoted by Daguerre during the 1780s.
WEISWEILER AND DAGUERRE
Weisweiler, an ébéniste of German origin, was elected maître in 1778 and established his atelier in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. While he is recorded to have worked with the marchand-mercier Julliot and the ébénistes Riesener and Benneman, the luxury pieces for which he is best known were almost exclusively sold directly through Dominique Daguerre. The heir to Simon-Philippe Poirier's atelier, Daguerre was the foremost Parisian marchand-mercier of the last decades of the Ancien Régime, dominating taste in Paris and subsequently London from the end of the 1770s. He specialised in supplying objets de luxe to the French court and, increasingly during the 1780's, to the English nobility. Based first in the rue St. Honoré, Daguerre also opened a shop in London in the 1780s to meet the demands of George, Prince of Wales and his circle, which included the Duke of Bedford and Earl Spencer. It was Weisweiler’s link to a thriving export trade through Daguerre that enabled him to continue working during the subsequent Revolution, and he adeptly avoided the bankruptcy which befell so many of his colleagues.
These consoles are mounted with late 17th century lacquer panels, which were probably cut from a precious Japanese casket or cabinet, and framed by nashiji lacquer borders accentuating the central scenes. Japanese was the most prized form of lacquer due to its extremely fine quality, the strikingly spare designs making it particularly appropriate for embellishing the more restrained furniture of the Louis XVI period. As one of the marchands who enjoyed a monopoly on the importation of all non-perishable goods from the Orient, Daguerre was particularly well-known for the production of furniture containing lacquer. One of his earliest and most richly-mounted pieces of lacquer furniture is a secrétaire incorporating three 17th century panels within nashiji frames. Almost certainly also executed by Weisweiler, it was supplied by Daguerre to Louis XVI's cabinet Intérieur at Versailles on 11 January 1784 (see O.Impey and J.Whitehead, 'From Japanese box to French Royal furniture', Apollo, September 1990, pp.159-165).
Another element underlining a collaboration between Weisweiller and Daguerre is the design of the interlaced stretchers on the present tables, which are a distinctive feature of Weisweiler’s oeuvre and correspond in form to a drawing attributed to Richard de Lalonde (flourished 1788-1806) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The drawing was one of ten provided by Daguerre to Duke Albert of Sachsen-Teschen and his wife Maria-Christina. The highly finished character of these drawings suggests they were made as 'sales material' for the Daguerre's clients rather than as working designs for an ébéniste (C. Dauterman and C. Parker, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, May 1960, p. 281, fig. 10). With its solid central roundel, the present stretchers are most likely designed to support a vase or ewer, such as those displayed on the tables by Weisweiler which were supplied by Dominique Daguerre to the Comte Stroganoff in Saint Petersburg and are now in the Musée Nissim de Camondo having been sold at auction by the Soviet Government in 1931.
RELATED EXAMPLES
Comparable examples of console tables incorporating Japanese lacquer include one veneered in ebony and attributed to Weisweiler of almost the same dimensions and featuring related mille-raies panels, interlaced stretcher and toupie feet. The console formed part of the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, now at the Metropolitan Museum, New York. The Wrightsmans also owned a pair of fall-front secretaires by Weisweiller on closely related stands, also now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (see F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, vol. I, New York, 1966, pp. 234-235, fig. 121, 191-194, fig. 106). However, in both character and design, perhaps the closest parallel to the present consoles are a near pair, similarly surmounted by brocatelle tops and veneered with lacquer panels within nashiji borders, one sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 4 March 1989, lot 288; the other, stamped by Schneider, sold Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, 11 March 1991, lot 169. Virtually identical, albiet for the extra panel to the frieze to the present pair, they are stamped by the ébéniste Gaspard Schneider indicating that the overall design of the model was a creation by Daguerre.
JACOB-DESMALTER
The stamp ‘Jacob D.R. Meslée’ was used by François–Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter (1770-1841), middle son of the celebrated menuisier Georges Jacob (1739-1814), between 1803 and 1813. Described as a 'menuisier-ébéniste-fabricant de meubles et bronzes de Leurs Majestes Imperiales et Leurs Majestes Royales,' Desmalter and his older brother, Georges II Jacob (1768-1803), established the Jacob Frères company in 1796 on the rue Meslée upon the retirement of their father (D.Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Francais Du XIXe Siecle, Les Edition de L'Amateur ,1989, p. 279). In addition to numerous commissions from the Imperial Garde-Meuble for the various residences of the Bonaparte family, Desmalter counted among his clients many luminaries of the Empire and the rich bourgeoisie of Paris, as well as prominent foreigners including Czar Alexander I of Russia and Charles IV of Spain. At its height the company held sixteen different workshops, including those for joining, turning, sculpting, inlaying, moulding and gilding. Employing over 300 workmen, it is probable the workshop also carried out restoration for important pieces from the Ancien Régime and it it is most likely that Desmalter stamped these tables in the capacity of a restorer.
The signature ‘Delplace’ to the underside of one table possibly corresponds to the Belgian connoisseur and art dealer Lucien Delplace (1897-1991), who specialised in 18th century furniture and objets d’art, and held a particular passion for Tournai porcelain.
WEISWEILER AND DAGUERRE
Weisweiler, an ébéniste of German origin, was elected maître in 1778 and established his atelier in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. While he is recorded to have worked with the marchand-mercier Julliot and the ébénistes Riesener and Benneman, the luxury pieces for which he is best known were almost exclusively sold directly through Dominique Daguerre. The heir to Simon-Philippe Poirier's atelier, Daguerre was the foremost Parisian marchand-mercier of the last decades of the Ancien Régime, dominating taste in Paris and subsequently London from the end of the 1770s. He specialised in supplying objets de luxe to the French court and, increasingly during the 1780's, to the English nobility. Based first in the rue St. Honoré, Daguerre also opened a shop in London in the 1780s to meet the demands of George, Prince of Wales and his circle, which included the Duke of Bedford and Earl Spencer. It was Weisweiler’s link to a thriving export trade through Daguerre that enabled him to continue working during the subsequent Revolution, and he adeptly avoided the bankruptcy which befell so many of his colleagues.
These consoles are mounted with late 17th century lacquer panels, which were probably cut from a precious Japanese casket or cabinet, and framed by nashiji lacquer borders accentuating the central scenes. Japanese was the most prized form of lacquer due to its extremely fine quality, the strikingly spare designs making it particularly appropriate for embellishing the more restrained furniture of the Louis XVI period. As one of the marchands who enjoyed a monopoly on the importation of all non-perishable goods from the Orient, Daguerre was particularly well-known for the production of furniture containing lacquer. One of his earliest and most richly-mounted pieces of lacquer furniture is a secrétaire incorporating three 17th century panels within nashiji frames. Almost certainly also executed by Weisweiler, it was supplied by Daguerre to Louis XVI's cabinet Intérieur at Versailles on 11 January 1784 (see O.Impey and J.Whitehead, 'From Japanese box to French Royal furniture', Apollo, September 1990, pp.159-165).
Another element underlining a collaboration between Weisweiller and Daguerre is the design of the interlaced stretchers on the present tables, which are a distinctive feature of Weisweiler’s oeuvre and correspond in form to a drawing attributed to Richard de Lalonde (flourished 1788-1806) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The drawing was one of ten provided by Daguerre to Duke Albert of Sachsen-Teschen and his wife Maria-Christina. The highly finished character of these drawings suggests they were made as 'sales material' for the Daguerre's clients rather than as working designs for an ébéniste (C. Dauterman and C. Parker, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, May 1960, p. 281, fig. 10). With its solid central roundel, the present stretchers are most likely designed to support a vase or ewer, such as those displayed on the tables by Weisweiler which were supplied by Dominique Daguerre to the Comte Stroganoff in Saint Petersburg and are now in the Musée Nissim de Camondo having been sold at auction by the Soviet Government in 1931.
RELATED EXAMPLES
Comparable examples of console tables incorporating Japanese lacquer include one veneered in ebony and attributed to Weisweiler of almost the same dimensions and featuring related mille-raies panels, interlaced stretcher and toupie feet. The console formed part of the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, now at the Metropolitan Museum, New York. The Wrightsmans also owned a pair of fall-front secretaires by Weisweiller on closely related stands, also now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (see F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, vol. I, New York, 1966, pp. 234-235, fig. 121, 191-194, fig. 106). However, in both character and design, perhaps the closest parallel to the present consoles are a near pair, similarly surmounted by brocatelle tops and veneered with lacquer panels within nashiji borders, one sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 4 March 1989, lot 288; the other, stamped by Schneider, sold Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, 11 March 1991, lot 169. Virtually identical, albiet for the extra panel to the frieze to the present pair, they are stamped by the ébéniste Gaspard Schneider indicating that the overall design of the model was a creation by Daguerre.
JACOB-DESMALTER
The stamp ‘Jacob D.R. Meslée’ was used by François–Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter (1770-1841), middle son of the celebrated menuisier Georges Jacob (1739-1814), between 1803 and 1813. Described as a 'menuisier-ébéniste-fabricant de meubles et bronzes de Leurs Majestes Imperiales et Leurs Majestes Royales,' Desmalter and his older brother, Georges II Jacob (1768-1803), established the Jacob Frères company in 1796 on the rue Meslée upon the retirement of their father (D.Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Francais Du XIXe Siecle, Les Edition de L'Amateur ,1989, p. 279). In addition to numerous commissions from the Imperial Garde-Meuble for the various residences of the Bonaparte family, Desmalter counted among his clients many luminaries of the Empire and the rich bourgeoisie of Paris, as well as prominent foreigners including Czar Alexander I of Russia and Charles IV of Spain. At its height the company held sixteen different workshops, including those for joining, turning, sculpting, inlaying, moulding and gilding. Employing over 300 workmen, it is probable the workshop also carried out restoration for important pieces from the Ancien Régime and it it is most likely that Desmalter stamped these tables in the capacity of a restorer.
The signature ‘Delplace’ to the underside of one table possibly corresponds to the Belgian connoisseur and art dealer Lucien Delplace (1897-1991), who specialised in 18th century furniture and objets d’art, and held a particular passion for Tournai porcelain.