A gilt-bronze-mounted kingwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, bois citronnier and parquetry writing table stamped P. Roussel JME Louis XVI, circa 1775

the three-quarter gallery pierced with alternating panels of balusters and entrelac, the top inlaid with interlaced quatrefoils centred by paterae, the intersections centred by flowerheads, within a ribbon-tied border cornered by foliate paterae, the frieze with an egg-and-dart above and below with a long drawer mounted with scrolling foliage and sunflowers flanked by patera at each angle within rope-twist ormolu frames, with similarly mounted sides, on tapering legs inlaid with fluting and headed by ribbon-tied ormolu swags, joined by a rectangular platform inlaid with paterae on a cube parquetry ground, with a circular paper label inscribed Hillingdon Heirlooms 228, on brass castors

Acquired by Sir Charles Mills, Bt. (1792-1872) or possibly his son, Charles, 1st Lord Hillingdon (1830-1898), Wildernesse Park, Sevenoaks, Kent.
Thence by descent to 4th Lord Hillingdon, by whose Trustees sold Christie's, London, 29th June 1972, lot 84.
Sold Christie's, London, 13th June 1991, lot 63.

 

Very attractive detail to marquetry with old very minor restorations to splits in the veneer, which have been very well executed and are hardly noticeable. Some of the bronzes have been regilt but this has been well executed. In overall very good conserved 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:
Catalogue of the Furniture, Porcelain & Pictures, Etc. at Wildernesse Park, Sevenoaks, The Seat of Lord Hillingdon, privately printed, 1891, p. 16 (recorded in the Library)

Christie's Review of the Season 1991

On this table an ormolu balustrade of architectural form encloses a top veneered in a particularly rich and delightful pattern. The trellis of amaranth can be read two ways: either as intersecting quatrefoils or as concave-sided octagons linked by ovals. When both are seen simultaneously the effect is slightly hypnotic, and it becomes even more pleasing when one realises that each unit of the trellis  - the quatrefoil or the concave octagon – is the stylised or geometric form of the flowerhead or patera in its intersection. 

The inspiration for 'mosaic' marquetry of this type was undoubtedly the patterns on Japanese lacquer imported into France from the seventeenth century onwards. The form was made famous by J.H. Riesener, who typically used waterlily-and-trellis motifs in what was sometimes also called "marqueterie à la Reine"  (see for example lot 25 in the present sale). Riesener's influence can also be seen on the rope-twist ormolu mounts which frame the foliate mounts on the frieze. Similar ormolu borders for instance can be found on writing tables supplied by Riesener to the Crown in the late 1770's, and there are three such tables at Waddesdon (see G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Fribourg, 1974, vol. II, nos. 103-105).     

The Hillingdon Collection.

This table comes from the Hillingdon collection, one of the great English nineteenth-century collections of French furniture, which was begun by the banker Sir Charles Mills, Bt. (1792-1872) and augmented by his son, the 1st Lord Hillingdon (1830-1898) who was elevated to the peerage in 1886 (fig.1).  The family lived at Camelford House in Mayfair (fig. 2), at Hillingdon Court in Middlesex and latterly at Wildernesse Parke in Sevenoaks, Kent (fig.3).  The collection was noteworthy particularly for its numerous porcelain-mounted pieces of furniture of both Louis XV and Louis XVI period.  In 1936 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acquired seventeen of its best pieces (see Decorative Art from the Samuel H Kress Collection, London, 1964, especially pp.116-119). 

The apparent pair to this table was sold by Christie's London, 17th July 1930, lot 54, from the collection of the Earl of Balfour, K.G., O.M. Although almost identical, the Balfour table may have later replacement paterae mounts heading the legs. Another almost identical table has been recently recorded in a Swiss collection.

Pierre Roussel
His stamp records him presumably acting as the marchand rather than ébéniste of this table.

Like many of his peers, Pierre Roussel (b. 1723) was the son of an ébéniste.  He became a maitre in 1745 and by 1767 was one of the leading furniture makers and dealers in Paris. In the late 1770's he supplied the Prince de Condé with 10,000 livres' worth of furniture, probably his largest commission.  The inventory after his sudden death in 1783 reveals a stock of almost 250 pieces, mostly in tulipwood marquetry, bois satiné and amaranth.