A FRENCH LOUIS XVI STYLE ORMOLU MOUNTED CONSOLE DESSERTE AFTER JEAN HENRI RIESENER
$39,500.00
A FRENCH LOUIS XVI STYLE ORMOLU MOUNTED CONSOLE DESSERTE AFTER JEAN HENRI RIESENER
France, Circa 1900
The D-shaped green Cippolino marble top above a breakfront frieze centered with a drawer over a cupboard door decorated with fruit-wood marquetry inlays depicting still-life and trophies, raised on toupie feet.
Dimensions
Height: 49.5" (125.7 cm)
Width: 57.5" (146 cm)
Depth: 22" (55.8 cm)
Born in Germany, Jean Henri Riesener began his career at the service of the monarchy with the roll-top cylinder bureau for Louis XV, which was placed in his private cabinet. Commissioned in 1760 for Oeben, his father-in-law and instructor, the desk was exceptional in its innovativeness, the refinement of the marquetry, the quality of the bronzework and, above all, the ingenuity of its locking mechanism which allowed the whole desk to be locked with a single turn of a key, and opened by the simple press of a button! Completed in 1769, it was later modified during the Revolution by its creator, who was obliged to remove the royal symbols. The bureau was a hugely prestigious piece of work and firmly established Riesener’s reputation.
Commissions from the Court came flooding in thereafter, and for more than ten years Riesener was the principal craftsman for royal residences. His exorbitant prices, however, alienated part of his clientele and he lost some of his custom to his confrere, Beneman. Marie Antoinette nevertheless remained a loyal customer.
