A late Louis XV ormolu mounted amaranth and tulipwood inlaid bureau plat attributed to Philippe-Claude Montigny (1734-1800)Circa 1770The rectangular top inset with a gilt tooled leather writing surface, the mounted edge surmounted by a single reed three quarter gallery, above a panelled frieze with repeating elongated Greek key pattern inlay within boxwood strung borders, the front and reverse each with a central ormolu rosette mount with stiff leaf corners, the front incorporating one long and one short oak lined drawers, flanked by ring-hung drapery swag angle mounts, over a lower edge with a repeating interspersed ribbon wrapped bundle of reeds mount, on four tapering square section leg with square-cut re-entrant angles, each leg headed by four roundel mounts, terminating in square section moulded toupie sabots, approximately: 114cm wide x 57cm deep x 73cm high, (44 1/2in wide x 22in deep x 28 1/2in high)Footnotes:Philippe-Claude Montigny, maître in 1766.A conforming writing table to the offered lot, described as 'The Lagerfeld bureau plat' and attributed to Montigny, sold Christie's, London, 18 April 2023, The Collector, lot 9. Another virtually identical example sold Christie's, New York, 27 January 2021, The Collection of Mr and Mrs John H. Gutfreund, lot 147.All three of the aforementioned have corresponding 'Etruscan' ornamentation and Greek key-inlaid friezes, proving that they were executed in the 'goût grec', a style which was flourishing when these were made in circa 1770. The earliest evidence of this specific style are the designs, which were produced as a collaborative project by the architect Louis-Joseph le Lorrain and Simon-Philippe Poirier, a contemporary marchand mercier, for the suite of furniture supplied to Ange-Laurent Lalive de Jully's hotel in Paris. This commission included many celebrated pieces, but of particular note were the bureau plat and cartonnier which are now located at the Musee Condé, Chantilly.The present table is very closely related to a group of historically recorded 'bureaux à la Greque' by the ébénistes, Montigny and Jacques Dubois (1694-1763), sometimes stamped by one or other of these two figures, or even on occasion stamped by both. Most frequently these were, as with the above, veneered in amaranth combined with tulipwood, although some were also produced in ebony. Such bureaux plats perfectly exemplify the highest quality output made as a result of the kind of strong working relationship that doubtless must have existed between these two renowned cabinet makers.The models known to be by or attributed to Philippe-Claude Montigny are typically marginally larger than those associated with Dubois, whilst the former also tend to employ unified veneering. A table of this exact type, stamped for Montigny, which incorporates the distinctive Greek key pattern inlay, albeit to its three drawers rather than the total of two that feature on most, is illustrated in A. Pradere, Les Ebenistes Francais de Louis XIV a la Revolution, 1989, fig. 344, p. 306. Another comparable, also stamped by Montigny, which possesses the interesting characteristic of lion mask mounts, sold Sotheby's, Paris, 23 June 2004, lot 80. A further identical bureau plat that is, just like the offered lot, an unstamped version, sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 26-27 February 1993, lot 221. Added to these, a Montigny variant of the same form and design, but with plain amaranth drawers as opposed to a Greek key inlaid frieze, sold Christie's, Monaco, 19 June 1993, lot 110, whilst yet another of this type sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 3 July 1993, lot 166.In 1763, following the death of Dubois, 'une table de bois d'amaranthe à la Greque' appears documented as part of an inventory compiling the ebeniste's remaining stock. Consequently, since the much younger Montigny was not even maître by that date, the latter was in fact only appointed as such three years later, it seems logical to assume that Dubois was the one responsible for the origin of this particular 'bureau a la Greque'. However, this is further complicated by the fact that another very similar model, which is significant for one recorded as being by Rene Dubois, features in P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Francais du XIIIeme Siecle, 1989, Paris, p. 281. Rene was the son of Jacques and took over the business with assistance from his mother after the latter's death.Presumably, due to the undoubtedly very high level of demand for this model, it must have been the case that Dubois, operating effectively as a marchand-ébéniste, chose to subcontract Montigny to provide him with a great deal of these writing tables. This supposition is lent genuine weight by the fact that some furniture which is housed at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, and various pieces in the Wallace Collection, London, are actually stamped by both of these makers. As well as this, one final directly related bureau plat sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 17 June 1988, lot 741.Montigny took over the cabinet making workshop, which was located in La Jaiverie near the Bastille (based in the east of Paris), previously run by his father Louis. It is clear from Philippe-Claude's oeuvre that his favoured style, especially during the 1770s, was the gout grec which was at the height of fashion in the decorative arts during that period.However Montigny is perhaps equally renowned for his major position, alongside Etienne Levasseur (1721-1798), which focussed upon a responsibility for the restoration and conservation of the outstanding collection of Boulle furniture within the Royal collection, known as La Garde-Meuble de la Couronne. Interestingly this role coincided with a widespread revival in appreciation and even admiration for such Boulle marquetry pieces following a relatively brief period of apparent disinterest, see I. Neto, Musée Cognacq-Jay, Catalogue des Collections, Le Mobilier, 2001, Paris, p.130.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TPTP For auctions held in Scotland: Lots will be moved to an offsite storage location (Constantine, Constantine House, North Caldeen Road, Coatbridge ML5 4EF, Scotland, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please refer to the catalogue for further information.For all other auctions: Lots will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
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