Louis Majorelle

mahogany, gilt-bronze

Sale: Ader Picard Tajan, Monte-Carlo, Art Nouveau - Art Déco, 9 October 1977, lot 330
Acquired directly from the above

Leipzig, Museum der Bildenden Künste, Gunter Sachs, 2008, pp. 127, 130 & 133

Alastair Duncan, Louis Majorelle: Master of Art Nouveau Design, London, 1991, p. 169, for a contemporary illustration

Colour is a more intense dark red/brown than suggested by catalogue illustration. Overall good condition. Some spots to gilt mounts and wear to highlights. Wood has been repolished and there is evidence of some previous cracking and lifting to the top mantle, now restored. Overall some marks and scratches, particularly to the top, consistent with age and use. The interior has bulges, losses and lifting to the veneer particularly to the side uprights and a piece of wood has been added to the underside of the back at the top, presumably for fixing in place. Nonetheless a monumental work from one of Majorelle's most appealing decorative schemes.
"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."

The Nénuphars motif was introduced in 1900 and stands alongside the Orchidées (see lot 34, Evening Sale) as Louis Majorelle's greatest decorative scheme. Nénuphars met with immediate acclaim and established Majorelle's reputation as the most outstanding ébéniste of his generation. Originally employed on two ensembles of furniture for an office and a salon, the motif was translated with considerable success to a sumptuous suite of bedroom furniture which included this fireplace alongside Majorelle's greatest tour de force, the Nénuphars bed.

Majorelle went to great effort to produce coherent ensembles of furniture based around a single motif and he preferred to offer items en série, the better to demonstrate how each piece of furniture was carefully scaled to create a harmonious effect as part of a complete interior. Here the strong vertical sweep of the curving side elements mirror both the bed's monumental height and the flaring forms of the gilt-bronze water-lily motifs that flower upon its headboard. The sense of organic growth and graceful sculptural quality that are so characteristic of Majorelle's work find free expression here in the dramatic swoop and negative space created by the side elements, which lend a great sense of depth to the conventionally flat form of a chimneypiece.