A Louis XVI mahogany bookcase signed Claude Charles Saunier

A fine solid mahogany and mahogany veneered bookcase on plinth. Architectural in shape, it is crowned by an overhanging cornice and its canted sides are carved with wide curved flutes.
Stamped C.C.SAUNIER at the back.
Claude Charles Saunier cabinetmaker received master on 31 July 1752
Paris circa 1775

In addition to the very fine quality of its mahogany, this piece of furniture is notable for its beautiful polished steel interior elements, such as the steel squares of its doors and the espagnolette lock and bolt system.


Master in 1752, under Louis XV, and the son the cabinetmaker Jean Charles Saunier, Claude Charles Saunier's work is mainly notable for his furniture from the Louis XVI period, during which he contributed to the revival of forms in a sober style inspired by antiquity. His work reflected the taste of Parisian connoisseurs for rigour, sobriety and balance in form, particularly when it is combined with the use of solid woods such as the beautiful mahogany in which this bookcase is made.

Famous pieces by Claude Charles Saunier include the beautiful console delivered in 1787 for the Dauphin's appartement in Versailles, the cylinder desk in the Musée Nissim de Camondo, and the console decorated with sheet of metal plates in the former collection of the Dukes of Mortemart at the Château du Reveillon.