J.F.OEBEN A late Louis XV ormolu-mouted bois satiné console 'à la Grecque'

A late Louis XV ormolu-mouted bois satiné console 'à la Grecque'
Paris, circa 1761–1768
Satinwood and amaranth veneer, gilt bronze mounts, white marble top
Stamped J.F. OEBEN, Jean-Francois Oeben, master in 1761

Provenance :
Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co, Monaco, 12 février 1979, lot 276


This exceptional Neoclassical console table, is veneered in satinwood with amaranth borders and richly ornamented with gilt bronze mounts. Its architectural form is defined by a curved front and four slightly projecting pilasters, adorned with simulated fluting in marquetry. The console opens with a central frieze drawer and two pivoting side drawers "à l'anglaise". The three stretcher shelves and the paneled back are also in satinwood, framed with amaranth. The top is made of veined white marble.


Jean-François Oeben appears to have been the first Parisian cabinetmaker to create such console tables, developed in response to the emerging use of dedicated dining rooms in the 1750s. This console is probably the counterpart to another identical model, formerly in the Rothschild collection at Mentmore Towers and now housed in the collection of the Earls of Rosebery at Dalmeny House, Scotland.

This piece belongs to a rare group of consoles produced in Oeben’s workshop during the 1760s, distinguished by their Neoclassical architecture and decorative rigor. A console of the same model in solid mahogany, stamped by Oeben, is published in L’art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes by Nicolay (1956, p. 346, fig. J). Three other console are documented in notable 20th-century collections, such as a console with Greek key marquetery friezes in the collection of Mademoiselle Rémy by 1960, and a pair, very similar to our console, with interlaced gilt bronze drawer decoration, in the former collection of Galerie Michel Meyer.

The presence of Oeben’s stamp (J.F. OEBEN) allows for precise dating between 1761—the year of his reception into the guild—and 1768, when his former collaborator Jean-Henri Riesener acquired the workshop. After Oeben’s death in 1763, his widow Françoise-Marguerite Vandercruse managed the atelier, eventually passing its direction to Riesener, who became a master in 1768. This console signed J.F.OEBEN was most probably made under the supervision of Jean-Henri Riesener.

Oeben, originally from Heinsberg near Aachen, established himself in Paris in the mid-18th century. Married to Françoise-Marguerite Vandercruse, sister of the celebrated cabinetmaker Roger Vandercruse Lacroix, he was introduced into elite cabinetmaking circles. He joined Charles-Joseph Boulle’s atelier at the Louvre in 1751, and his career flourished under the patronage of Madame de Pompadour. He was appointed ébéniste du roi at the Gobelins in 1754 and became renowned for his mastery of marquetry and mechanical furniture. In the early 1760s he received the prestigious commission for the King’s desk, probably the most famous piece of French Royal furniture to this day.

Oeben's oeuvre reflects the stylistic shift away from Rococo toward the emerging Goût Grec—an early phase of Neoclassicism inspired by Greco-Roman antiquity. This console exemplifies that movement: its sober lines, architectural symmetry, and ornamental references to classical antiquity align with what German diplomat Friedrich Melchior von Grimm observed in 1763—“everything in Paris is in the Greek style.”

This workshop's importance in shaping late 18th-century taste is underscored by the presence of future masters such as Jean-François Leleu and Jean-Henri Riesener among Oeben’s collaborators. Though brief, Oeben's career marked a turning point in decorative arts, bridging Rococo and the full flowering of the Louis XVI style.


Selected Bibliography
- Nicolay, Jean. L’Art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes français au XVIIIe siècle. Paris: Pygmalion, 1956. See p. 346, fig. J, for a related console table by Oeben in mahogany, of identical form and structure.
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Grands ébénistes et menuisiers parisiens du XVIIIe siècle. Exhibition catalog. Paris: 1955. See cat. no. 233; pl. 25 for a marquetry console with Greek key frieze from the former Rémy collection.
- Connaissance des Arts. No. 45, November 1955, p. 76. Illustration of the Rémy console exhibiting the same typology and stylistic vocabulary.
- Sotheby’s Paris. Important Mobilier et Objets d’Art. Sale catalog, November 9, 2010, lot 206. Includes a pair of nearly identical consoles from the Michel Meyer collection.