A partly Louis XVI gilt-bronze mounted mahogany, eboy and amaranth veneered console desserte, circa

A pair of Louis XVI gilt-bronze mounted tulipwood, kingwood and amaranth bibliothèques, circa 1774, stamped by Nicolas Petit

en placage de bois de rose, amarante et bois fruitiers, ouvrant à deux portes vitrées, la façade ornée de rubans torsadés feuillagés, les côtés avec des panneaux en marqueterie de fleurs ; les montants à pans coupés ; ornementation de bronze doré : frise d'entrelacs et rosaces, estamped N.PETIT and JME on the back of each

Height. 81 ¾ in, width. 58 ½ in, depth. 12 ¼ in

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Paire de bibliothèques en bois de rose, bois de violette, amarante et bronze doré d'époque Louis XVI, vers 1774, estampille de Nicolas Petit

en placage de bois de rose, amarante et bois fruitier, ouvrant à deux portes vitrées, la façade ornée de rubans torsadés feuillagés, les côtés avec des panneaux en marqueterie de fleurs ; les montants à pans coupés ; ornementation de bronze doré : frise d’entrelacs et rosaces, estampillée N.PETIT et JME au dos de chaque

Haut. 207,7 cm, larg. 148,6 cm, prof. 31 cm

Catalogue note
This pair of bookcases is exceptional example of Nicolas Petit's work. The high quality of the workmanship, and the ornamental research that characterizes it, place our pair among the most elaborate and prestigious creations by this cabinetmaker. The floral marquetry, characteristic of his style, is extremely fine, delicately framing the doors. The floral marquetry not only decorates the wooden panels like paintings but also adorns the furniture with its strong presence, particularly on the two doors. The understated gilded bronze ornamentation allows the inlaid decoration to express itself fully, simply underlining and enhancing it.

But what is most original and rare in Petit's output is their style. These bookcases, which can be dated to around 1774-1775, are one of the earliest examples of Petit's furniture in the Louis XVI style. Indeed, his work is essentially made up of pieces produced in the Louis XV or Transitional Louis XV - Louis XVI style. The cabinetmaker's best-known pieces are his Transition-style chests of drawers.

Here, curved forms have given way to straight lines. The shallowness of these pieces and the canted corners give them a finesse that is rare for Louis XVI-style bookcases, which are usually more massive. In the same spirit, the friezes and Greek urns that characterize his Transition chests of drawers give way to much more restrained ornamentation using marquetry motifs and alternating shades of wood. A few discreet elements nevertheless recall Nicolas Petit's taste for rocaille art. This is particularly true with the gilt bronze key escutcheons, the curved shape of which can be found on several other pieces of furniture by this cabinetmaker, such as a pair of Louis XVI period cupboards (Christie's Monaco, 13 December 1997, lot 213).

Our pair of bookcases is part of a group of pieces of furniture that can be considered exceptional in Nicolas Petit's work. Anne Droguet, in her reference work on the cabinetmaker, envisages four different levels of production: everyday furniture, comfortable furniture, rich furniture, and finally luxury furniture. For the latter, the cabinetmaker takes great care in finishing the frames, exploiting the richness of the grain and colors of the veneers and employing an abundance of gilded bronzes to give the furniture structure. Even if, in our case, the gilded bronze mounts are discreet, it is to highlight the preciousness of the wood and the quality of the marquetry that allow these two pieces of furniture to be included in the luxury furniture category.

This bookcase is not an isolated example of Nicolas Petit's work, as we know of a piece of furniture in a private collection (the former Segoura collection) decorated with flowering vases on a pedestal, featuring the same marquetry framing of plant ornaments made up of intertwined laurel stems and branches ending in flowers. This piece of furniture belonged to the famous Lady Baillie collection and was part of the collection sold by Sotheby's in London on 13 December 1974, lot 267.

Nicolas Petit (1732-1791, awarded the title of Master in 1761) was born in the north of France on 31 May 1732. He established himself on rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris around 1753. He quickly established a reputation for his highly varied work, which included numerous pieces of furniture, always of high quality, using veneers, sometimes friezed, and marquetry. He began by working for merchant-merchants and other cabinet-makers but also developed his own clientele made up of important names, notably the Duc d'Orléans and the Duc de Bouillon. Compared with other cabinet-makers of his time, Nicolas Petit's output is very substantial and varied, with over 500 pieces of furniture referenced today. Despite the abundance of his work, the quality of the wood and the care taken in the finish mean that his creations rank among the finest of the 18th century.

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Cette paire de bibliothèques est exceptionnelle à plus d’un titre dans la production de Nicolas Petit. Sa grande qualité d’exécution, et la recherche ornementale qui la caractérise, place notre paire dans les réalisations les plus travaillées et prestigieuses de cet ébéniste. La marqueterie florale, caractéristique de son style, est d’une grande finesse, encadrant délicatement les portes. Elle ne se contente pas de venir orner les panneaux de bois comme des tableaux mais habille le meuble par leur forte présence, notamment sur les deux portes. L’ornementation de bronze doré, en toute sobriété, permet quant à elle au décor marqueté de s’exprimer pleinement, venant simplement le souligner et le rehausser.

Mais ce qui est le plus original et rare dans la production de Petit est leur style. Ces bibliothèques, que l’on peut dater vers 1774-1775, correspondent à un des premiers exemples de meubles de Petit de style Louis XVI. En effet, son corpus se compose essentiellement d’ouvrages réalisés dans le style Louis XV ou dans le style Transition Louis XV - Louis XVI. Les meubles les plus connus de l’ébéniste sont ses commodes de style Transition. Ici, les formes galbées ont laissé la place à des lignes droites. Le peu de profondeur de ces meubles et les angles à pans coupés leurs confèrent une finesse rare pour des bibliothèques de style Louis XVI, habituellement plus massives. Dans ce même esprit, les montures de frises et urnes grecques qui caractérisent ses commodes Transition laissent la place à une ornementation beaucoup plus sobre jouant sur les motifs de marqueterie et les alternances de teintes d’essences de bois. Quelques discrets éléments rappellent tout de même le goût de Nicolas Petit pour l’art rocaille. C’est le cas notamment des entrées de serrure en bronze doré dont la forme mouvementée se retrouve sur plusieurs autres meubles de cet ébéniste, comme une paire d’armoires d’époque Louis XVI (Christie’s Monaco, 13 décembre 1997, lot 213).

Notre paire de bibliothèques fait partie d'un ensemble de meubles que l'on peut considérer comme exceptionnel dans la production de Nicolas Petit. Anne Droguet, dans son ouvrage de référence sur l’ébéniste, envisage quatre niveaux différents de production : le mobilier cour