BY FRÉDÉRIC SCHMIT, PARIS, CIRCA 1860

Details

A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD AND MAHOGANY BUREAU PLAT
BY FRÉDÉRIC SCHMIT, PARIS, CIRCA 1860
The serpentine-shaped top inset with a gilt-tooled tan leather writing surface above three drawers with foliate handles and escutcheons, the right drawer divided into two compartments, the similarly mounted reverse with false drawers, the sides inset with leather-lined slides, the ends applied with central shell and seaweed mounts, on tapering cabriole legs headed by alternating male and female warrior busts and terminating in acanthus-cast lion-paw feet, the central drawer lock-plate stamped 'S. SCHMIT/ 22 R DE CHARONNE/PARIS'
30 ¼ in. (77 cm.) high; 71 in. (180.5 cm.) wide; 39 ¼ in. (100 cm.) deep

Provenance

The Property of a Lady; Christie's, London, 24 February 2005, lot 188.

Special Notice

This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Giles Forster

gforster@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2146

Lot Essay

Born in Luxembourg, Frédéric Schmit became one of the great Parisian cabinet makers, specialised in producing high quality furnishings and meubles de fantaisie. Throughout his career he appears to have kept workshops on the rue de Charonne in the centre of the furniture-making district, the Faubourg St Antoine. He received Gold Medals at the 1878 and 1889 Expositions Universelles in Paris, and was always considered to make pieces of the finest quality. A bureau plat of the same model and one with cartonnier is illustrated in C. Payne, Paris Furniture – The Luxury Market of the 19th Century, Paris, p. 507 and 509.

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