A ROYAL LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BOIS SATINE AND PARQUETRY COMMODE
- BY PIERRE WALTER, DELIVERED TO MADAME DE POMPADOUR CIRCA 1751 FOR THE CHATEAU DE BELLEVUE

BY PIERRE WALTER, DELIVERED TO MADAME DE POMPADOUR CIRCA 1751 FOR THE CHATEAU DE BELLEVUE

(Set Currency)

$60,000 - $90,000

• Track Lot
• Place Bid

Sale 2350
500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe, Including Oriental Carpets
21 - 22 October 2010
New York, Rockefeller Plaza Buy Catalog

A ROYAL LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BOIS SATINE AND PARQUETRY COMMODE
BY PIERRE WALTER, DELIVERED TO MADAME DE POMPADOUR CIRCA 1751 FOR THE CHATEAU DE BELLEVUE
With serpentine sarrancolin marble top above two drawers, the bottom of one drawer inscribed in black ink 8336, the back inscribed in black ink No. 19, the underside of the marble inscribed in black ink with inventory number 21 and N, the back branded with the Marque au feu of the Château de Bellevue BV beneath a closed crown surmounted by a Fleur-de-lys, and with indistinct ink inscription Br...geff...t, stamped J.WALTER JME to rear left upright, the mounts stamped with the 'C Couronné Poinçon'
33in. (85cm.) high, 31in. (80.5cm.) wide, 20in. (51cm.) deep

I confirm that I have read this Important Notice and agree to its terms.

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson d'Etiolles, marquise de Pompadour (1721-64) delivered circa 1751 for the château de Bellevue.
Louis XV (1710-74), the château de Bellevue.
Mesdames Adelade and Victoire, the King's sisters, at the château de Bellevue, until the Revolution.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, Monaco, 2 July 1993, lot 191.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 2 November 2000, lot 209.

Pierre Walter, maître before 1738.

The C-couronné poinçon was a tax mark employed between March 1745 and February 1749 on any alloy containing copper.

The first mention of this commode is found in the Journal du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne on 1 January 1763 (1). This listed the furniture bought by Louis XV six years earlier with the château de Bellevue:

No 19 Une commode demi-régence de bois satiné à dessus de marbre et deux tiroirs fermants à clef avec entrées de serrures, boutons, fleurons et chaussons de bronze dorée d'ormoulu Longeur 2 pieds 1/2 sur 19 po de large et 32 po 1/2 de haut [81 x 51.4 x
88 cm.]

The second listing is in the 1786 inventory of the château:

19 -- le petite commode à la régence de bois de palissandre à dessus de marbre.

At this date the commode was in the garde-robe de l'appartement no. 6 on the ground floor of the château. After Mesdames were exiled from Bellevue during the Revolution, an inventory was taken of the furniture, which was then sold on the premises. This is the last trace of the commode until 1993.

Madame de Pompadour had the château de Bellevue built by Gabriel. Finished by Lassurance, Bellevue was inaugurated by the favorite in the presence of the king and the court on 25 November 1750. The interior decoration continued until 1752. The marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux furnished the major part of the ébénisterie and bronzes d'ameublement. For example, in December 1751 he delivered:
Une commode de 28 po (76cm.) en bois satiné, garnie en bronze doré d'ormoulu au No 2 118 L.

The second apartment was on the ground floor of the château beneath the entry vestibule.

The ébéniste Walter worked from his shop on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine for the ébéniste François Mondon (1694-1770) and the marchand-ébéniste Pierre Migeon (1701-58), who supplied Madame de Pompadour.

(1) Archives nationales, Paris, 01 3317, fol. 240.
(2) Archives nationales, Paris, 01 3379, fol. 38.

• European Ceramics & Glass

• 18th Century
• commode
• Furniture & Lighting
• commodes/chests-of-drawers
• marquetry
• France
• Rococo

• Bold, Exotic, Refined – English Furniture [Article]

• IMPORTANT NOTICE
• Conditions of Business for this Sale