Jacques Dubois, maître in 1742.
A number of bureaux of similar form by Jacques Dubois are recorded, often employing sumptuous panels of lacquer. Notable examples include one from the château de Breteuil, sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 14 June 1982, lot 480; one stamped with the crowned 'C', illustrated in A. Pradère, Les Ebénistes Français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, Paris, 1989, p. 170; one formerly in the collection of Djahanguir Riahi, sold Christie's, New York, 2 November 2000, lot 51 ($237,000); and one attributed to Dubois sold Christie’s, New York, 29-30 November 2012, lot 135.
Half-brother of the great marchand-ébéniste Nöel Gérard, Jacques Dubois (1694-1763) worked as an ouvrier libre in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. He was one of the most prolific cabinet-makers in the Louis XV period, his work characterized by graceful lines and finely cast mounts. His workshop was extensive, the inventory taken after his death listing twelve workbenches and over one hundred pieces of furniture. He particularly specialized in lacquer pieces, and among the furniture in his workshop the inventory listed 'un bureau en lac de Chine 220 L' and 'une petite secrétaire en lac de japon 200 L'. These were almost certainly made on commission for a marchand-mercier. It is interesting to note that Dubois supplied lacquer furniture to the marchand-mercier Machart, and employed the specialist vernisseur Joseph Huitre to supply him with lacquer panels, who is also known to have worked for Machart. The inventory of Dubois's workshop also listed a large stock of bronze mounts, indicating the possibility that he retained exclusive use of his own model of mounts.