BY ADAM WEISWEILER, CIRCA 1790

Name: A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED THUYA, MAHOGANY AND EBONY BUREAU A GRADIN
Brand: BY ADAM WEISWEILER, CIRCA 1790
Price: 75000.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised GBP 94,500

Estimate

GBP 25,000 - GBP 40,000

Closed: 18 Apr 2023

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A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED THUYA, MAHOGANY AND EBONY BUREAU A GRADIN

BY ADAM WEISWEILER, CIRCA 1790

Price Realised GBP 94,500

Closed: 18 Apr 2023

Price Realised GBP 94,500

Closed: 18 Apr 2023

Details Lot Essay Related Articles More from

The three-quarter pierced galleried brocatelle d'Espagne marble top above an arrangement of eleven drawers around a plain panel, the reverse with a further arrangement of two opposing drawers, the lower section with rectangular gilt-tooled leather writing surface above two frieze drawers and two opposing drawers, on four reeded legs with mille-raie capitals, terminating in sabots stamped twice 'A WEISWEILER'
39¹⁄₄ in. (99.5 cm.) high; 44¹⁄₂ in. (113 cm.) wide; 30¹⁄₂ in. (77.5 cm.) deep

Cornette de Saint Cyr, 10 December 1997, lot 244.

This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.
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Lot Essay

Adam Weisweiler, 26 March 1778.

This elegant thuya, mahogany and ebony typifies the turning point in Weisweiler’s career, when he abandoned the monumental productions of the early Louis XVI period and opted for more sober models, in keeping with the evolution of fashion. The present lot can be seen to illustrate this fascinating moment of Anglo-French cultural appreciation when the ‘Anglomania’ of the Louis XVI court was matched by a growing taste for French furniture among the aristocracy of Great Britain. The decoration of these elegantly architectural pieces of furniture became simpler, with fewer bronzes, and the elaborate marquetry of flowers was replaced with magnificent exotic plain veneers. The adoption of this new era of sober and balanced furniture, yet above all, retaining quality of execution, was also followed by such as Jean-Henri Riesener, Pierre Garnier and Canabas.

Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820) worked closely with the Julliot and Daguerre but the luxury pieces, for which he is best known, were sold mostly through Daguerre. The latter, who counted the French, Neapolitan and Russian Royal families amongst his clientele, enjoyed particular favour in England under the patronage of George, Prince of Wales, later King George IV and even established a shop in 1788 in Piccadilly to supply the English nobility. George IV acquired several pieces of Weisweiler's furniture for Carlton House, his private residence, in the late 1780s, via Daguerre.

Weisweiler remained active until 1809, and it was his long-standing association with Daguerre that enabled him to continue to work for the export trade during the Revolution, thus allowing him to avoid the bankruptcy that befell so many of his colleagues.

A related , of virtually identical design but incorporating a mechanical top, was formerly in the collection of Georges Geoffroy, until sold Palais Galliera, Paris, 2 December 1971, lot 139, illustrated in P. Lemonnier, , Paris, 1983, p. 89.