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Lot Essay
Although unstamped, this exquisite table en chiffonnière, with its sharply defined, naturalistic spray of flowers and curvaceous yet delicate outline, relates stylistically to the oeuvre of Jean-Pierre Latz (c. 1691-1754, ébéniste privilegié du Roi before 1741). It can be attributed to him based on the virtuosity of the beautifully inlaid and engraved top, which shares several features with a small parlour organ by him in the Frick Collection in Pittsburgh, which is thought to have been made for Marie Louise Elisabeth (1727–1759), daughter of Louis XV and Queen Maria Leszczynska (H. Hawley, 'Jean-Pierre Latz, Cabinetmaker', Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, September-October 1970, pp. 258-9, no. 67; purchased by Helen Clay Frick in 1967, initially on display at the Frick Collection, New York and subsequently moved to Pittsburgh). Variants of the quatrefoil motifs to the bottom corners and feathered motifs to the top corners of the cartouche of the organ top (which is centred by a bagpipe and sprays of flowers) also feature on the top of the present table; the cartouches to both tops are inlaid in contrasting woods framing the flowers; bellflowers adorn the tops of the legs of both pieces; and both are predominantly veneered in tulipwood on an amaranth ground. There are also similarities between the top of the present table and that of a mechanical table stamped by Latz in the James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, both of which feature distinctive trellis motifs to the centre of the cartouche at the top (ibid, no. 65).
Latz worked from the rue du Faubourg St. Antoine and his style is characterised by its sculptural vitality, extremely realistic floral marquetry and distinctive bronze mounts, which he cast himself in direct contravention to the guild regulations (ibid, p. 207). Counting Frederick II of Prussia and Augustus III of Poland amongst his key patrons, Latz's style was fundamental to the development of the Rococo idiom in Potsdam and Berlin by the likes of the Spindler brothers.
This table also shares the same overall form and vividly drawn floral bouquet found on a pair of tables, one by Latz and the other attributed to him, formerly in the Baron von Goldschmidt-Rothschild collection, sold at Christie's, London, 12 December 2002, lot 110. Another similar pair, from the estate of Eugenie Fromer, was sold Christie's, New York, 7 June 2013, lot 313. Further comparable tables include one with a partial stamp '...TZ' from the collection of the late Andre Meyer, sold Christie's, New York, 26 October 2001, lot 15 and a table attributed to Latz from the Alexander Collection, sold Christie's, New York, 30 April 1999, lot 93 (the lot following the present table in that sale).
Latz worked from the rue du Faubourg St. Antoine and his style is characterised by its sculptural vitality, extremely realistic floral marquetry and distinctive bronze mounts, which he cast himself in direct contravention to the guild regulations (ibid, p. 207). Counting Frederick II of Prussia and Augustus III of Poland amongst his key patrons, Latz's style was fundamental to the development of the Rococo idiom in Potsdam and Berlin by the likes of the Spindler brothers.
This table also shares the same overall form and vividly drawn floral bouquet found on a pair of tables, one by Latz and the other attributed to him, formerly in the Baron von Goldschmidt-Rothschild collection, sold at Christie's, London, 12 December 2002, lot 110. Another similar pair, from the estate of Eugenie Fromer, was sold Christie's, New York, 7 June 2013, lot 313. Further comparable tables include one with a partial stamp '...TZ' from the collection of the late Andre Meyer, sold Christie's, New York, 26 October 2001, lot 15 and a table attributed to Latz from the Alexander Collection, sold Christie's, New York, 30 April 1999, lot 93 (the lot following the present table in that sale).