Pelham Galleries - London Crossbow Chest

Details

Description

A Late Louis XIV Red Boulle Commode, attributed to Nicolas Sageot circa 1710 Height: 31 3/4 in. (81 cm) Width: 47 1/2 in. (120 1/2 cm) Depth: 26 1/2 in. (67 1/2 cm) Provenance: Belgian Embassy, Vienna Nicolas Sageot, maître in 1706 The top richly ornamented with arabesques in the manner of Jean Bérain, with a finely modelled shaped-gadroon ormolu border, the façade with three drawers en arbalète , their Boullework set into ebony frames richly mounted with shell and acanthus corners and finely cast ormolu drop handles, the entrées de serrure in the form of Bacchic masks, with a central apron and rounded corners with shell and acanthus mounts, the sides finely inlaid with arabesque panels, raised on lion?s paw feet in the front and leafy pied de biche feet behind. The discovery of several pieces stamped by the Louis XIV ébéniste Nicolas Sageot (1666-1731) over the last ten years has heightened interest in this previously little-known cabinetmaker, whose production appears to have been of consistently high quality and worthy of comparison with that of his more famous contemporary André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732). This present commode is very likely to have come from Sageot?s workshop, due to its similarities with various pieces of furniture stamped by or attributed to the master. The design of the brass and tortoiseshell marquetry on the top and sides of this piece is virtually identical to that of a commode attributed to Sageot, sold Sotheby?s London 12 December 2001, Lot 30, and a commode in the Wallace Collection (F 408); both pieces also have lion?s paw feet. The marquetry on the top and the façade of the present commode is moreover very similar to that on a second commode in the Wallace Collection (F39), which has leafy hoof feet. Ultimately, the marquetry on all these pieces relates to inlaid motifs found on several pieces stamped either N. Sageot or N.G., including a pair of bibliothèques sold Sotheby?s New York, 25 May 2000, lot 32, and a bureau Mazarin in the Swedish Royal Collection, Stockholm. Nicolas Sageot is first recorded as working in the Grande Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine in 1698 as an ouvrier libre and became a member of the cabinetmaker?s guild eight years later. In 1711 he married Marie Brigitte Roussel, daughter of the ébéniste Jacques Roussel, and operated a thriving workshop that seemed to specialise in the production of commodes, armoires and desks. In 1720 he retired from business and sol

Features

• Country : UNITED KINGDOM
• Style : Louis XIV
• Designer : Nicolas Sageot