Alavoine & Co, Ancienne Maison Roudillon A gilt-bronze mounted brown tortoiseshell and engraved brass inlaid boulle marquetry bureau plat Paris, circa 1895, after André-charles Boulle, the mounts by Maison Millet

stamped four times M^{son ROUDILLON/ALAVOINE & Co/PARIS,} many bronzes with the mark MB from the bronze master models, one lock has been removed to reveal the locksmith mark Duvivier / Paris / 77 F^{g St Antoine}. 

This desk is still in its original mostly untouched condition. As such, the leather top has lost the gilding to the tooling, is dirty and scratched, and, as visible in the catalogue illustration, the carcass has moved and torn apart the leather in three section. The whole desk is veneered with tortoiseshell with extensive chips and losses to the veneer in places. One side has extensive tortoiseshell restoration using kingwood veneers. All bronzes are extensively tarnished and have lost their gilding. One leg has its vertical brass banding lacking. Uplifting to engraved brass throughout. There are parts of kingwood veneers in a bag.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Etienne-Simon-Eugene Roudillon (1820-1891), recorded in 1844 as Tapissier-Ebéniste, took over the Ringuet-Leprince firm in 1853.  The firm was located at 9, rue de Caumartin employing more than 500 craftsmen and exhibited at the 1844, 1851,1855, 1867 and 187 exhibitions. One of Roudillon's most important clients was the Grand duc Constantin de Russie. By 1890, the firm moved to the L. Alavoine.

During the 1890s, great American collectors such as Pierpont Morgan, Henry Walters, and Henry Clay Frick, among others, demanded museum quality pieces with which to furnish their townhouses and country mansions.  Parisian decorating and furniture making firms such as Etienne-Simon-Eugene Roudillon, Jacques Seligmann & Co. and Duveen & Co. had offices in New York to specifically cater to wealthy American clients.

The present bureau plat is directly based on a model by André-Charles Boulle which he supplied to the Duc de Bourbon in 1720, now at Versailles.  The table is also based on a design for a bureau plat attributed to either Boulle or Gilles-Marie Oppenord, now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, in Paris.  The design of the winged term-figure mounts copies the design for the mounts on a pair of commodes supplied by Boulle for the bedchamber of Louis XIV at the Grand Trianon in 1708.  For illustrations of the 18th century models, see Alexander Pradère, French Furniture Makers, London: Sotheby's Publications, 1989, pp. 72, 82, 83, figs. 17, 35, 36.