A gilt-bronze-mounted stained green sycamore, ebony and parquetry commode à encoignures twice stamped M. Carlin JME and Pls. Des Tuiles for the Palais des Tuileries Louis XVI, circa 1775

of gentle bowed form with a later moulded veined yellow marble top above a frieze drawer and a pair of cupboard doors enclosing a shelf flanked on either side by a recess, the frieze mounted with guilloche and acanthus, the doors panelled with acanthus, the whole inlaid with trellis parquetry enclosing flowerheads, the stiles with ribbon-tied berried laurel trails, on square tapering legs with gilt-bronze block feet, the top with the inventory No N634 in black ink, marquetry restored, some mounts on the sides replaced

Morton Lee Galleries, London in 1947
Sold as lot 41 in these Rooms, 11th June 1993

Minor chips to the marble along the rear edge. There are some very minor sections of veneer missing and replaced commensurate with age. The marquetry has been restained and restored in places. The stained sycamore on the frieze has faded and would benefit from some colour enhancement. There has been some shrinkage resulting in some looseness to the backboard of the panel on the left encoignure, which can easily be restored. There has been some minor water damage to the base of the right hand encoignure. The mount on the right front stile is loose, but can easily be repinned. The backboard has been strengthened at the back. Gilding mostly original. In overall very good restored condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Comparative Literature:
Daniel Alcouffe, Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Vol. I, Dijon, 1993, pp. 238-239, nos. 73 and 74.
Alexandre Pradère, French Furniture Makers, Tours,1989, pp. 343-361,figs. 411- 414.

This piece obviously at one time was in the French Royal collection at the Palais de Tuileries due to the stamp and inventory number....LEPERLIER TO HELP

The commode à encoignures was obviously a form Martin Carlin favoured and two commode à encoignures stamped by Carlin, decorated in Japanese lacquer are now in the Louvre, see Alcouffe, op. cit., p. 238, no 73 (inv. OA 10481) and p. 239 no 74 (inv. OA 5472), the latter was confiscated from the Comtesse du Brunoy during the Revolution op, cit., p. 346.

The tapering legs can be see together with virtually identical frieze mounts on a  commode stamped Carlin inlaid with cube and octagon marquetry, circa 1770-75, illustrated by Pradere op cit., p. 350, fig. 411.

The geometric trellis design of the marquetry is similar to that on many other pieces by Martin Carlin, sometimes in lozenge pattern, as on the present piece, and sometimes formed of linked ovals or octagons filled with flowerheads, see Pradère, op. cit.,  figs. 411- 414.
The identical apron mount appears on two commodes sold Sotheby's Monte Carlo, lot 154, 21st May 1978 and lot 504, 13th February 1983.

The Palais de Tuileries stamp and inventory number:
The Palais de Tuileries stamp on this piece is an inventory mark probably used under the Restauration as the full `Palais de Tuileries ' mark was used during the Empire period. 

Martin Carlin:
Martin Carlin c. 1730-85, received Master 1766
He was born in Baden the son of a carpenter and by 1759 he had settled in with German and Flemish ébénistes such as the Oeben and Vandercruse families. He worked all his life in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine and married J.-F. Oeben's sister in 1759. He started to supply the marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier  and the mounting of porcelain plaques on furniture was a speciality of his. The first piece of furniture in this style was the bonheur du jour in the Bowes Museum. From 1766 to 1778, he supplied Poirier with porcelain mounted furniture after designs supplied by the latter using mounts and porcelain plaques supplied by him. They were generally small scale pieces and amounted to around a not inconsiderable third of his known production.

After 1775, this production considerably decreased. He still made the odd piece though mounted with porcelain, such as a commode à encoignures circa 1783-84, which would later belong to George IV. In the late 1770's he concentrated on furniture applied with Japanese lacquer panels which was the height of fashion and supplied the marchands such as the sons of Darnault and he also made lacquered furniture for Dominique Daguerre. In the inventory taken after his death, the records mention that he worked exclusively for the marchands-merciers. The name of the ciseleur doreur to whom Carlin owned 679 livres was `S. Prevost ciseleur'.

Also see lots 40 and 45 for further pieces by Carlin.