French Furniture of the Louis XV and Louis XVI Periods, Including Important Signed Cabinetwork and Two Aubusson Tapestry Suites

Excerpt from French Furniture of the Louis XV and Louis XVI Periods, Including Important Signed Cabinetwork and Two Aubusson Tapestry Suites: Queen Anne and Georgian Silver, K'ang-Hsi and Ch'ien-Lung Porcelains, Including Examples From the Morgan Collection; Diamond Jewelry

The French furniture of the Shattuck collection is notable for the un usual number of signed pieces by the Parisian moi/res obenisles. These range from the simple and elegant Louis XVI side chairs by Leclerc to the richly carved and parcel-gilded fauleuils signed by J. B. Gourdin and cov ered in Aubusson. Tapestry of the period; the former conjuring up the com fortable bourgeois interiors of Chardin, the latter, the luxurious court paint ings of Boucher and Fragonard. This dichotomy, if carried further, shows in consistent fashion the versatility of the French cabinetmakers, who catered with equal faith fulness to the purses of the boutiquier and the prince of the blood. Notice for example the plain little table a rognon by Saunier, the Simple transitional Louis xvi-directoire library table signed by Ferdinand Bury, and the pair of Louis XVI fauteuils by Claude Sene pore; and on the other hand, the profusion of marbles de luxe like the beautiful bmzlwzzr da jour from the Duveen collection, the two semicircular com modes by Courtois and Lignereux, and the charming little harewood marqm'leric writing table by Charles Topino, the harassed debtor of the rue du Faubourg saint-antoine. The repertory of the individual master was unfettered by a price-range system. And if this be so, the only con elusion possible is that guild-tradition was strong enough in eighteenth century France to impose upon the craftsman an unswerving fidelity to his art, whether the reward were large or small.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.