A FRENCH RÉGENCE GILT BRONZE-MOUNTED KINGWOOD AND PARQUETRY COMMODE EN TOMBEAU BY LOUIS-SIMON PAINSUN, CIRCA 1725

Son of a cabinetmaker based in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Louis-Simon Painsun married the daughter of the prominent ébéniste Etienne Doirat (c.1675-1732), who maintained retail premises in the fashionable Rue Saint-Honoré. Like his father-in-law Painsun appears to have specialised in producing chests of drawers of sarcophagus form referred to as commodes en tombeau and decorated with geometric parquetry. After Doirat's death Louis-Simon took over the lease and stock of his shop, sometimes adding his own stamp to pieces signed by Doirat. Painsun is also known to have collaborated with Pierre Migeon, as pieces bearing both their estampilles are recorded, but surviving works stamped only by Painsun are rare. Commodes with a central recessed panel on the lowest tier of drawers flanked by curvilinear gilt bronze mounts are a variation of the standard design, colloquially referred as a commode à moustaches.