Herringbone-veneered satinwood chest of drawers with four dr - Lot 225

Herringbone-veneered satinwood chest of drawers with four drawers in two rows, the Sarrancolin marble top (restored) resting on pinched, curved uprights terminating in cambered feet, ormolu ornamentation (gilding redone) with falls, key escutcheons, claw feet, frames and apron (the bronze apron and lower drawer key escutcheon reported at a later date), with an ink mark: V. (on the top under the marble). Bronzes marked with a crowned c (1745-1749). By Charles Cressent (1685-1768). Louis XV period, circa 1725-1735. H. 79.5 cm - W. 142 cm - D. 58 cm The commode in the work of Charles Cressent The work of cabinetmaker Charles Cressent is stylistically highly structured, as Alexandre Pradère demonstrates in his reference work, which classifies the various commodes produced during his career into a dozen or so models, most often corresponding to small series. The chest of drawers presented here can be found under the heading "à cadres et chutes diverses". Unpublished to date, our commode belongs to a group of nine commodes that are relatively similar to each other and, as the name suggests, are decorated with different bronze off-cuts. One (no. 87 in the catalog raisonné) comes from the former La Barre de Nanteuil collection (Monaco sale, Sotheby's, February 7, 1982, lot 333, then Monaco sale, Sotheby's, June 17, 1988, lot 746), while the other was sold in Paris, Palais Galliera, November 28, 1970, lot 86 bis. In addition to a similar template, they feature the same type of herringbone frieze, festooned falls, drop handles and the magnificent mask of Diana adorning the first drawer (on the Nanteuil commode, this mask is replaced by that of Bacchus, although the mask of Diana can be found on commode no. 88). We would like to thank Alexandre Pradère for kindly confirming the attribution of this chest of drawers to Charles Cressent. The crowned c mark Since the dating of this group of commodes corresponds to the years 1725-1730 (Pradère, op. cit., p. 143), the presence of the crowned c mark, necessarily dated between 1745 and 1749, was therefore affixed after the furniture was made and most probably when it was resold, as required by regulations. It is interesting to note that the bronze of the apron and of the lower drawer keyhole do not bear the mark and were therefore replaced after 1749. The V. A V. mark stenciled in ink remains unidentified to this day, but is listed in André Theunissen's 1934 book (Meubles et sièges du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1934, p. 194). Bibliographical reference : A. Pradère, Charles Cressent, Dijon, 2003. Expert : Pierre-François DAYOT - 06 30 09 86 10