Hôtel Lambert, Une Collection Princière, Volume III : À travers l’Hôtel Lambert
Hôtel Lambert, Une Collection Princière, Volume III : À travers l’Hôtel Lambert
A pair of Louis XIV style meubles d'appui by Béfort Jeune after the model by André-Charles Boulle stamped by Georges-François Alix, circa 1880
Auction Closed
October 13, 06:27 PM GMT
Estimate
50,000 - 80,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
A pair of Louis XIV style meubles d'appui by Béfort Jeune after the model by André-Charles Boulle stamped by Georges-François Alix, circa 1880
ebonised wood and brass Boulle marquetry with gilt bronze mounts; the front centered by figures of Aspasia and the Philosopher, the cupboard doors opening to two shelves, the carcass stamped ALIX A PARIS
height 51 in.; width 48¾in.; depth 19⅓in., 130 cm; 124 cm; 49 cm.
(2)
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Paire de meubles d'appui en placage d'ébène et marqueterie Boulle d'écaille et de laiton de style Louis XIV d'après un modèle d'André-Charles Boulle estampillés par Georges-François Alix, vers 1880
la façade ornée des figures d'Aspasie et du Philosophe, estampillés ALIX A PARIS
height 51 in.; width 48¾in.; depth 19⅓in., 130 cm; 124 cm; 49 cm.
(2)
Private collection, Europe;
Koller Zurich, 13 March 2008, lot 1130.
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Collection privée, Europe;
Koller Zurich, 13 mars 2008, lot 1130.
The present cabinet is based on an important series of armoires of medium height which have been studied by Alexandre Pradère, "Les Armoires à Médaille de l'Histoire de Louis XIV par Boulle et ses suiveurs", in Revue de l'Art, no.116, 1997, pp. 42-53.
This series was created by André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) after 1700 and its production was continued in the Boulle workshops during the first half of the 18th century. The prototype was almost certainly a medal cabinet such as the one now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford which is fitted with vertical rows of drawers for the storage of medals. Fully packed with medals, the cabinet would have been extraordinarily heavy which necessitated the additional central foot. The concept of a medal cabinet was further illustrated by the use of medals, or casts of medals, as the decorative devices on the front doors. In fact, these armoires were not frequently fitted with drawers for medals, but were made to serve a variety of purposes, most usually as bookcases, the central foot was retained although it no longer served a useful purpose.
During the 18th century, the impetus for the neoclassical production of these cabinets seems to have been the celebrated Parisian marchand-mercier Claude-François Julliot (1727-1794).
A number of similar 18th century cabinets are known today, most of them in public collections. Ten are in the French national collections, one pair is in the collection of H.R.H Queen Elizabeth II, and other pairs are at Chatsworth and the Hermitage Museum.
Georges-François Alix (1846-1906) was a cabinetmaker working in Linke's workshops, possibly from as early as 1881. It is thought that Alix, at some unspecified date, started working on his own, and that Linke purchased some of his friend's cabinetmaking plans and wood models or gabarits after Alix's death in 1906.