Commode stamped Pierre DENIZOT, Transition Louis XV – Louis XVI period

We are pleased to present a rare and exceptionally pure piece of Transition-style furniture.
This commode is a fundamental reference point for the creative elegance of the period.
It is defined by its softness, richness, and delicacy.

Pierre Denizot was a creator—not a follower content with merely assembling Louis XV elements with those inspired by the Comte de Caylus’s discoveries in Greece and Italy.
To fully understand the distinguished pedigree of this commode, we must consider the prestigious clientele that Denizot served.

Pierre DENIZOT
Accepted into the guild on August 1, 1740, Pierre Denizot only registered his master’s certificate in 1760—at which point he began stamping his pieces.
A renowned cabinetmaker, he also worked with the cabinetmaker and dealer Léonard Boudin.
Kjellberg notes that many pieces likely made by Denizot and sold through Boudin bear both stamps—or sometimes only Boudin’s.

He was the official supplier to the Comte d’Artois, younger brother of Louis XVI and future Charles X, furnishing the Temple Priory Palace, Bagatelle Pavilion, Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and Château de Maisons-Laffitte.
He also contributed to the furnishing of several princely and royal residences, including that of the Comte de Provence, future Louis XVIII.

As the Comte de Salverte writes in his authoritative work Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle, leurs œuvres et leurs marques (6th ed., F. de Nobele, Paris, pp. 93–94):

“The refined tastes of this master are evident as much in his technical skill as in the elegant pieces bearing his stamp.”

DESCRIPTION
Commode with central projection, veneered with precious wood marquetry, opening with three tiers of drawers. The top tier, below the marble, consists of three smaller drawers.
The central section features two full-width drawers with concealed rails.

The frieze is decorated with interlaced marquetry bordered with rosewood.
Each drawer is framed by a broken molding.
The central body is adorned with “à la reine” and trellis marquetry, bordered with a frieze of posts.
The rear-projected sides reflect the same design, with the post borders replaced by inlays of fillet and double Greek key in the spandrels.

Rounded front corners with simulated fluting.
At the bottom, the serpentine apron is centered by a large bronze mount shaped as a pendant.
It rests on four sharply curved, faceted legs, each adorned with finely pierced bronze shoe mounts.

Thick Brèche d’Alep marble top, molded on three sides.
Superb gilded and finely chiseled bronze mounts, including matching corner mounts.

Stamped: Pierre DENIZOT, master on August 1, 1740
Also stamped: L. BOUDIN, in his capacity as a retailer
Period: Transition Louis XV – Louis XVI

Dimensions:
Height: 90.5 cm – Width: 129.5 cm – Depth: 59 cm

FEATURES AND SPECIFICS
The three frieze drawers, framed with broken moldings, are slightly recessed, giving rhythm to the front and avoiding a commonplace bronze border.

The two end drawers of the frieze contain hidden compartments. A small push-button in the false back allows them to open.

A centralized locking system secures the central upper drawer and the two long drawers below.

The central projection has a subtly curved profile rather than sharp angles.

The large apron extends the lower drawer in an elegant and balanced manner.

Very prestigious provenance

PROVENANCE
Duveen Brothers, Paris

Philip Lehman (1861–1947), American investment banker and philanthropist born in New York, an art collector since 1911. Upon his death, his collection passed to his son Robert Lehman, and is now housed in the Robert Lehman Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

By descent to his daughter Pauline Lehman Ickelheimer (b. 1886),
and subsequently through the family line until its sale at Christie’s, New York, November 14, 1985, lot 125.

Joseph DUVEEN
One of the most renowned British art dealers, specializing in French furniture, luxury porcelain, and Persian carpets.
With his brother Henry J. Duveen, he founded Duveen Brothers, first in London on Oxford Street, then in New York—initially on Broadway and 19th Street, later on the prestigious Fifth Avenue.

Their visionary idea: to sell 18th-century French furniture and art objects to America’s new millionaires during the Gilded Age (the post–Civil War period of prosperity, ca. 1865–1901).
Their clientele included:

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Henry Clay Frick

Jay Gould

Samuel Henry Kress

Andrew Mellon

John D. Rockefeller

William Randolph Hearst

J.P. Morgan

Henry E. Huntington

Philip Lehman

LITERATURE
This commode is illustrated in:
P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIème Siècle, 4th ed., p. 292 (b) –
“Transition commode with projecting center, marquetry of four-leaf squares and cubes, frieze of interlacing, and frieze of posts.”