Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
Rare lady's desk in satin veneer resting on four slightly arched legs ending in ebony veneer slippers.
Model opening with two large side drawers, the "bowl" top on three sides.
Oak frame.
Three CP fire marks separated by an anchor under a crown for the Château de Chanteloup *, one under each drawer and one under the top.
Perfect state of conservation.
French work from the Louis XV period attributable to Simon Oeben * around 1770.
Dimensions:
Height: 69 cm; width: 96 cm; depth: 48.5 cm
Origin :
-The Duke of Choiseul-Stainville (1719-1785) at the Château de Chanteloup until 1785.
-His wife Louise Honorine Crozat du Châtel, Duchess of Choiseul-Stainville (1734-1801) until 1786.
-Louis-Jean-Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (1725-1793) at the Château de Chanteloup until 1793.
-His daughter Louise-Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon (1753-1821) Duchess of Orleans until 1794 and the seizure of the castle by the national convention.
-Probably sold by the purchaser of Chateau Guillaume-Barbier-Dufay who dismantled Chanteloup in 1798 and resold the furniture.
-Private collection Tourangelle then by descent.
Bibliography:
“Chanteloup. A moment of grace around the Duc de Choiseul ”, cat. exp., Paris, 2007, similar table p. 244.
Similar model:
Amboise town hall (Indre et Loire)
* Chateau de Chanteloup
Located on a ledge of the Loire in front of the Amboise forest, remodeled in 1711 by the architect Robert de Cotte for Bouteroue d'Aubigny, the castle was bought by the Duke of Choiseul in 1761. Etienne François de Choiseul (1719 -1785), from a very old family in Lorraine, first Count of Stainville, became known by serving during the war of Austrian succession. Noticed by the Marquise de Pompadour, he was sent to Rome then Vienna. The success of his embassies earned him being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1758 then Minister of War and Navy, and Duke of Choiseul. He retired to Chanteloup after his disgrace in 1770.
When he died, his widow sold it to the Duke of Penthièvre (1725-1793), grandson of Louis XIV and Grand Admiral of France who acquired it with all the furniture.
On the death of the Duke, the Duchess of Orleans, his daughter, inherited the castle. His property will be seized and sold under the Terror.
* The fire mark CP on both sides of a marine anchor under a closed crown, is affixed during an inventory of 1787 by Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre on all the pieces present in the castle, and some of which date from the time of the Duke of Choiseul.
The anchor symbolizes his function as Grand Admiral of France.
* Simon Oeben (1722-1786) is a French cabinetmaker received master in Paris in 1769.
Younger brother of Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763), Simon was mentioned in 1754 as a companion in the Gobelins workshop of his brother, who became Cabinetmaker to the King, thus succeeding Charles Joseph Boulle (1688-1754). When two years later, Jean-François left for the Arsenal, Simon alone continued the activity of the workshop and received the title of Cabinetmaker to the King. Although supplier to a wealthy clientele such as the Duc de Choiseul or Madame de Pompadour, he left such a catastrophic financial situation upon his death (1786) that his widow, Marie-Marguerite Vandercruse, sister of Roger Vandercruse Lacroix, had to quickly cease all production.
Attribution to Simon Oeben:
The purity of the line which prefigures neoclassicism, the use of satin veneer and the absence of bronze are all characteristics specific to the style of Simon Oeben.
We know from a document dated September 1769 that the cabinetmaker presented to Ambroise Ribot, the intendant of the Château de Chanteloup, a memorandum of 2,734 books for the delivery of around fifty small cabinetry pieces (tables, bedside tables, etc. ) including two for Paris and the rest for Chanteloup.
Some of these small pieces which were inventoried by the Duke of Penthièvre today bear the CP mark but also the stamp of the brother-in-law of the Oeben, Roger Vandercruse dit Lacroix who worked as a subcontractor for large orders from the workshop. Oeben, the others that do not have a stamp are directly attributable to Simon Oeben, the latter not yet having the mastery.
Of the twenty-six tables in the chateau during the 1785 inventory, two are in walnut, two in rosewood, five in mahogany, sixteen in Indian wood and only one, certainly ours has a satin veneer.
She was then in a beautiful room on the second floor above Mme de Brionne's apartment.
Furniture by Simon Oeben and RVLC in satin veneer for Chanteloup:
-Pair of bedside tables: Christie’s Paris December 17, 2003 (Lot 341, 58,750 euros)
