A gilt-bronze-and brass-mounted fruitwood and ebony inlaid sycamore, mahogany and parquetry console-desserte stamped J.H. Riesener Louis XVI, circa 1785

the D-shaped grey-veined white marble top above a frieze containing three drawers mounted with alternating pierced band of gilt-bronze bell-flowers and lunettes, the backboard with lozenges, on square tapering legs joined by  a marble shelf with a pierced gilt-bronze gallery terminating in tapering block feet with gilt-bronze foliate sabots, the underside and marble with a label stamped CORBIN Madam Corbin (Paris) Ltd and the number 21928825

The white marble top is original and has some very minor chips commensurate with age. Very nice quality mounts. The pull handles on corner drawers would appear to be later. Some very minor patches and restorations to the veneer which is generally in very good order. The piece has been stained red underneath the top and at the back. In overall excellent 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:
Jean Nicolay, L'Art et la Manière des Maîtres Ebénistes Français au XVIII  Siècle,  Paris, 1976, p.399, figs. S and R.
Pierre Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIème siècle, Dictionnaire des Ebénistes et des Menuisiers, Paris, 1998, p.713.
Theodore Dell, Furniture in the Frick Collection: Part II, New York, 1992, pp.71-90.
Alexandre Pradère, French Furniture Makers: The Art of the Ebéniste from Louis XIV to the Revolution, Tours, 1989, pp. 382-383

This extremely elegant console-desserte is typical of Riesener's late 1780s' repertoire. The arched flutes and foliage ornament on the frieze can be seen on the frieze of a commode  and companion secrétaire in the Frick collection, discussed by Theodore Dell, op. cit., pp. 71-90.They also appear on a commode in the Petit Trianon at Versailles, illustrated by Pradère op. cit., p. 382, fig. 467 and on a Riesener writing table presented in the present sale, lot 25.

The same mounts can be seen on two consoles-dessertes illustrated by Pierre Kjellberg, op. cit., p.713, the second of which was not stamped and had provenance from Caldwell Hall, Burton-on-Trent and was sold Christies, London, 19th May 1983, lot 109, reproduced here in fig.1. Another  very similar console desserte with the same Provenance which was attributed to and not stamped by Riesener was sold in the aforementioend sale, lot 110.

Other related consoles-dessertes by the same maker with identical marquetry and frieze mounts sold at auction include: 

-A smaller version stamped by Riesener was sold lot 105, Christie's, New York, 1st November 1989 

-One stamped Riesener, sold as lot 108, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 1st June 1949

-The frieze mounts also appear on a console-desserte sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 27th February 1992, lot 45.

The parquetry decoration to the backboard can also be found on both the Petit Trianon commode and the Caldwell console-desserte (see ante), as well as on the doors and drawers of a Riesener commode en secretaire which sold Christie's, Monaco, 17th June 2000, lot 290, illustrated by Pradère, op.cit., p.383, fig. 468. That commode also shared the offered lot's entrelac gallery and the foliate-mount tapering feet.

The offered lot demonstrates Riesener in transition from the elaborate pictorial marquetry of his early career to the sober plain veneers of his later years. In the mid 1780s, when his work for the Crown was more or less confined to Queen Marie-Antoinette, his veneered work, as here, consisted mostly of trellis parquetry. As on the Petit Trianon commode cited above, it appears on a number of stamped pieces made for the Court, including a dressing table delivered to the Tuileries in 1785 (see P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Francais, Paris, 1955, pl. XVI) and a bureau à cylindre also delivered to the Tuileries in 1784 and now at the Louvre. Such inlay is often called 'marqueterie à la Reine' in her honour, and was inspired by the patterns first seen on imported Japanese lacquer. Riesener invented this type of marquetry of lozenges delineated by black and white fillets on a sycamore ground called `satiné gris'.

Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806):

He became a maître ébéniste in 1768 and in the same year that he married the widow of  J. F. Oeben, whose workshop he took over in 1763. He was appointed ébéniste du roi in 1774 and for the next ten years supplied sumptuous furniture to King Louis XVI and his household.  From 1784, an economy drive within the Garde-Meuble meant he was employed rather less often by the Crown, but he continued to produce superb furniture for Queen Marie-Antoinette as well as a large base of aristocratic clients, both in France and elsewhere.

For further information on Riesener see footnote to lot 25.