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Lot Essay
Bernard II van Risenburgh, maître in 1730.
With its superb ‘bois de bout’ marquetry and jewel-like ormolu mounts applied to an audacious and sinuous shape, this table à écrire is one of the masterpieces made by the celebrated ébéniste Bernard II van Risenburgh (‘BVRB’) when his career was fully matured. It was once part of the fabled collections of Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911) who almost certainly acquired it from the ducs de Mortemart.
This desk belongs to a group of luxurious small-scale items of furniture developed by BVRB in the 1740s and destined for petits appartements or cabinets de retraite of wealthy and sophisticated patrons. Seven other bureaux of similar shape, scale and gilt-bronze ornementation are recorded, four of which are now in important public collections. The closest example is another ‘table à pupitre’ (with a book stand) which was delivered in 1746 by the marchand-mercier Thomas-Joachim Hébert (1687-1773), for the cabinet de retraite of the dauphine Marie-Thérèse-Raphaëlle (1726-1746), at Versailles, where it was put back following its acquisition by the French State in 2004 (inv. num. V6057) (illustrated here, figure 2).
This table, inventoried as 1386 in the Journal du Garde-Meuble was described as:
'Une table de bois satiné à fleurs, encadrée de bois d'amaranthe à placage, bombée et chantournée dans toutes ses parties, garnie de carderon, moulures, fleurons et chaussons de bronze doré d'or moulu, ayant par devant une table à coulisse pour écrire et deux tiroirs à boutons de bronze doré, doublés de tabis bleu ; celui à droite est garni d'encrier, poudre et boîte à éponge de cuivre blanchi ; le milieu de dessus fermant à ressort se lève en pupitre. Longueur 32 pouces sur 15 pouces de large et 25 de haut.’
The Royal table has fewer mounts than the present example and these are the only two tables of this model combining the double function of writing and reading, each having a sliding surface and a book stand subtly incorporated into the marquetry top.
Six other related tables à écrire by BVRB are recorded:
-in the Musée du Louvre (inv. num. OA 6540), this table has identical mounts and beautifully chased sliding surface, although with a leather lined surface to the top and no marquetry, being veneered in 'ailes de papillon' with tulipwood framed in kingwood. This table was purchased by Isaac de Camondo (1851-1911) in 1881 from the sale of the collection of Baron Léopold Double (1812-1881). According to an inscription found within the secret drawer, the table came from the château de Bellevue, although no documented source currently confirms this Royal provenance. The table also bears the seals of Mgr Pierre-Marie Double, Bishop of Tarbes (1767-1844), Double's uncle (illustrated here, figure 1)
-in the Museum Calouste Gulbenkian (inv. num. 97), which is identical to the latter although with a dolphin-shaped escutcheon which would also suggest a Royal origin, possibly for the dauphin Louis of France (1729-1756).
-in the Legion of Honor Museum of San Francisco, with identical shape and mounts but inlaid with green and red stained horn and mother-of-pearl marquetry and parquetry. This table is struck with the C couronné poinçon, a tax hallmark used between 1745-1749 on any metal containing copper.
-the table sold from the collection of Paul Dutasta, 4 June 1926, lot 160 also inlaid with luxurious horn and mother-of-pearl marquetry and parquetry. The Dutasta and Legion of Honor tables both have the dolphin-shaped escutcheon.
-a table à écrire sold at Christie’s, Paris, 6 November 2014 also shares similar shape and mounts but is decorated with laquer. This table was formerly in the collection of Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild (1836-1905).
-another table with almost identical mounts and with laquer panels was sold from the collection of Baron Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic (1839-1889), Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 18 June 1897, lot 43.
BERNARD II VAN RISENBURGH
After receiving his maître in 1730, BVRB worked almost exclusively for the important Parisian marchands-merciers of the mid-18th Century, such as Thomas-Joachim Hébert, Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier. His collaboration with the foremost dealers allowed him to use ormolu mounts of exceptional quality, the funding of which would have been too expensive for any ébéniste working independently. Most mounts employed by BVRB are unique to his oeuvre, suggesting that he either designed his own mounts or retained a bronzier for his exclusive use. His mounts are further characterized by an impeccable ciselure and a consistency of quality throughout.
These powerful and innovative dealers would have supplied BVRB with rich and exotic materials such as Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain, which were then incorporated into his finest pieces and sold to the most prestigious clientèle. Although he is recorded to have collaborated with different marchands, thereby catering to their individual demands, he developed a highly personal and distinctive style which makes his oeuvre instantly recognisable.
BVRB is also credited with reviving the great marquetry tradition of Louis XIV masters such as André-Charles Boulle, and especially the development of a particularly refined form of end-cut marquetry known as 'bois de bout' marquetry. This technique which he employed frequently is featured to the top of the present table.
It is interesting to note that BVRB’s oeuvre was first discussed in 1957 when the link was established between the 'BVRB' stamp and the then unknown - yet prodigious - ébéniste (J.P. Baroli, 'Le mysterieux B.V.R.B enfin identifié', Connaissance des Arts, March, 1957, pp. 56-63).
BARON GUSTAVE DE ROTHSCHILD
The red number '1190R' inscribed to the underside of the desk refers to the inventory drawn for the celebrated art collector Baron Gustave de Rothschild. From the French branch of the Rothschild family Gustave was the second son of James (1792-1868) and Betty de Rothschild (1805-1886), from whom he inherited a part of their collection. Gustave and his wife Cécile (née Anspach) established their family at 23 avenue de Marigny, constructed between 1873 and 1883 by Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe, who also built their country house the château de Laversine near Chantilly. Like his father he was an avid collector of Kunstkammer objects, but also collected the greatest examples of 18th century French furniture, a shared passion developed within the third Rothschild generation active in the second half of the 19th century. The label printed with the monogram 'MV' each letter surmounted with a ducal crown would suggest baron Gustave purchased the table from a member of the ducs de Mortemart, possibly Casimir de Rochechouart, duc de Mortemart et Vivonne (1787-1885). Among the many masterpieces of 18th century French furniture owned by baron Gustave de Rothschild was another important desk by BVRB subsequently sold at Christie's, London, 10 June 1993, lot 34.
With its superb ‘bois de bout’ marquetry and jewel-like ormolu mounts applied to an audacious and sinuous shape, this table à écrire is one of the masterpieces made by the celebrated ébéniste Bernard II van Risenburgh (‘BVRB’) when his career was fully matured. It was once part of the fabled collections of Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911) who almost certainly acquired it from the ducs de Mortemart.
This desk belongs to a group of luxurious small-scale items of furniture developed by BVRB in the 1740s and destined for petits appartements or cabinets de retraite of wealthy and sophisticated patrons. Seven other bureaux of similar shape, scale and gilt-bronze ornementation are recorded, four of which are now in important public collections. The closest example is another ‘table à pupitre’ (with a book stand) which was delivered in 1746 by the marchand-mercier Thomas-Joachim Hébert (1687-1773), for the cabinet de retraite of the dauphine Marie-Thérèse-Raphaëlle (1726-1746), at Versailles, where it was put back following its acquisition by the French State in 2004 (inv. num. V6057) (illustrated here, figure 2).
This table, inventoried as 1386 in the Journal du Garde-Meuble was described as:
'Une table de bois satiné à fleurs, encadrée de bois d'amaranthe à placage, bombée et chantournée dans toutes ses parties, garnie de carderon, moulures, fleurons et chaussons de bronze doré d'or moulu, ayant par devant une table à coulisse pour écrire et deux tiroirs à boutons de bronze doré, doublés de tabis bleu ; celui à droite est garni d'encrier, poudre et boîte à éponge de cuivre blanchi ; le milieu de dessus fermant à ressort se lève en pupitre. Longueur 32 pouces sur 15 pouces de large et 25 de haut.’
The Royal table has fewer mounts than the present example and these are the only two tables of this model combining the double function of writing and reading, each having a sliding surface and a book stand subtly incorporated into the marquetry top.
Six other related tables à écrire by BVRB are recorded:
-in the Musée du Louvre (inv. num. OA 6540), this table has identical mounts and beautifully chased sliding surface, although with a leather lined surface to the top and no marquetry, being veneered in 'ailes de papillon' with tulipwood framed in kingwood. This table was purchased by Isaac de Camondo (1851-1911) in 1881 from the sale of the collection of Baron Léopold Double (1812-1881). According to an inscription found within the secret drawer, the table came from the château de Bellevue, although no documented source currently confirms this Royal provenance. The table also bears the seals of Mgr Pierre-Marie Double, Bishop of Tarbes (1767-1844), Double's uncle (illustrated here, figure 1)
-in the Museum Calouste Gulbenkian (inv. num. 97), which is identical to the latter although with a dolphin-shaped escutcheon which would also suggest a Royal origin, possibly for the dauphin Louis of France (1729-1756).
-in the Legion of Honor Museum of San Francisco, with identical shape and mounts but inlaid with green and red stained horn and mother-of-pearl marquetry and parquetry. This table is struck with the C couronné poinçon, a tax hallmark used between 1745-1749 on any metal containing copper.
-the table sold from the collection of Paul Dutasta, 4 June 1926, lot 160 also inlaid with luxurious horn and mother-of-pearl marquetry and parquetry. The Dutasta and Legion of Honor tables both have the dolphin-shaped escutcheon.
-a table à écrire sold at Christie’s, Paris, 6 November 2014 also shares similar shape and mounts but is decorated with laquer. This table was formerly in the collection of Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild (1836-1905).
-another table with almost identical mounts and with laquer panels was sold from the collection of Baron Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic (1839-1889), Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 18 June 1897, lot 43.
BERNARD II VAN RISENBURGH
After receiving his maître in 1730, BVRB worked almost exclusively for the important Parisian marchands-merciers of the mid-18th Century, such as Thomas-Joachim Hébert, Lazare Duvaux and Simon-Philippe Poirier. His collaboration with the foremost dealers allowed him to use ormolu mounts of exceptional quality, the funding of which would have been too expensive for any ébéniste working independently. Most mounts employed by BVRB are unique to his oeuvre, suggesting that he either designed his own mounts or retained a bronzier for his exclusive use. His mounts are further characterized by an impeccable ciselure and a consistency of quality throughout.
These powerful and innovative dealers would have supplied BVRB with rich and exotic materials such as Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain, which were then incorporated into his finest pieces and sold to the most prestigious clientèle. Although he is recorded to have collaborated with different marchands, thereby catering to their individual demands, he developed a highly personal and distinctive style which makes his oeuvre instantly recognisable.
BVRB is also credited with reviving the great marquetry tradition of Louis XIV masters such as André-Charles Boulle, and especially the development of a particularly refined form of end-cut marquetry known as 'bois de bout' marquetry. This technique which he employed frequently is featured to the top of the present table.
It is interesting to note that BVRB’s oeuvre was first discussed in 1957 when the link was established between the 'BVRB' stamp and the then unknown - yet prodigious - ébéniste (J.P. Baroli, 'Le mysterieux B.V.R.B enfin identifié', Connaissance des Arts, March, 1957, pp. 56-63).
BARON GUSTAVE DE ROTHSCHILD
The red number '1190R' inscribed to the underside of the desk refers to the inventory drawn for the celebrated art collector Baron Gustave de Rothschild. From the French branch of the Rothschild family Gustave was the second son of James (1792-1868) and Betty de Rothschild (1805-1886), from whom he inherited a part of their collection. Gustave and his wife Cécile (née Anspach) established their family at 23 avenue de Marigny, constructed between 1873 and 1883 by Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe, who also built their country house the château de Laversine near Chantilly. Like his father he was an avid collector of Kunstkammer objects, but also collected the greatest examples of 18th century French furniture, a shared passion developed within the third Rothschild generation active in the second half of the 19th century. The label printed with the monogram 'MV' each letter surmounted with a ducal crown would suggest baron Gustave purchased the table from a member of the ducs de Mortemart, possibly Casimir de Rochechouart, duc de Mortemart et Vivonne (1787-1885). Among the many masterpieces of 18th century French furniture owned by baron Gustave de Rothschild was another important desk by BVRB subsequently sold at Christie's, London, 10 June 1993, lot 34.