A French silvered-bronze mounted, pewter and tinted pearwood cabinet by Alphonse Giroux, Paris, circa 1850, the bronze signed Mathieu Béfort Jeune

RELATED LITERATURE

C. Payne, Paris, la quintessence du meuble au XIXe siècle, Saint-Rémy-en-l’Eau, 2018. 

A. Dion-Tenenbaum and A. Gay-Mazuel, Revivals. L’historicisme dans les arts décoratifs français au XIXe siècle, Paris, 2020. 

Mid-century eclecticism

In the mid-19th century, the desire to regenerate the decorative arts encouraged artists to draw inspiration from past styles, from Antiquity to the end of the 18th century, and to look to distant horizons such as the Middle East. This need for renewal created the appetite to emulate past styles in a new way at the Universal Exhibitions, and which encouraged all countries to invent new industrial creative processes. The Beurdeley dynasty, Henry Dasson and Paul Sormani all became keen collectors of 18th century furniture, and alongside stylish designs, produced faithful reproductions of furniture from the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. These copies were shown at Universal Exhibitions and at industrial art exhibitions organized by the Union centrale des beaux-arts appliqués à l'industrie. At the same time, this generation of cabinetmakers designed composite furniture, creating original works that combined a variety of styles. Curiosity dealers’ were an essential link in the transmission of old techniques and models, similar to the haberdashery dealers of the 18th century.

This two-part cabinet is a perfect example of how shapes and ornaments from a wide range of vocabulary have been borrowed to create a harmonious piece of furniture. Far from being a simple pastiche, this piece of furniture is an original work of art. The composition and proportions of the upper section reflect the influence of 17th century French cabinets, and the use of ebonised or blackened wood reminiscent of ebony, a wood used throughout Europe at the time. The lower part owes a great deal to the furniture and commodes of the late 18th century, with their straight, sober lines, as is the case with certain works by Bernard Molitor in particular. The gilt-bronze ornamentation on the mounts, fallf-ronts and front sections are reminiscent of certain works by Jean-Henri Riesener, while the pediment of our piece of furniture is much more in keeping with the desire for movement of the Louis XV period.

The House of Alphonse Giroux

The firm Alphonse Giroux (1799-1881) was active from the late 18th century and was one of the most successful luxury shops in Paris from the Consulate period to the end of the Second Empire. Initiated by François-Simon Alphonse Giroux, the firm was sold in 1838 to his sons André (1801-1879) and Alphonse-Gustave (1809-1886). Like the great marchands-merciers of the Ancien Régime, the company at 7, rue du coq Saint-Honoré in Paris was described as a “Magasin de luxe, galerie, papeterie, tabletterie et ébénisterie”. Also a supplier to the Crown, the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, it was from these workshops that Louis XVIII and Charles X chose the gifts for the young Princess Louise and the duc de Bordeaux. By 1834, Giroux's talent and reputation as a cabinetmaker were so well known that it was listed in the Ébénistes section of the Almanachs du Commerce. Giroux also won several national and international prizes, including a silver medal at the Exhibition of Industrial Products. The publication of Meubles et Fantaisies: Maison Alp. Giroux in Paris around 1840 ensured the distribution of ninety-five color images of various kinds; but Giroux's reputation also grew through Imperial commissions from the middle of the century.

This is the case, for example, of the ‘bonheur-du-jour’ presented at the Exposition Universelle in 1855, which seduced Empress Eugénie. This impressive piece of furniture, made of carved limewood and now kept at the Château de Compiègne, seems to be covered in climbing plants, which invade the space and give it the air of having escaped from a fairytale. Interested in optics, Giroux père was not only the inventor of the kaleidoscope, but also the exclusive custodian of the daguerreotype, in collaboration with Maison Susse. Specializing in paper and art supplies, he also restored paintings and sold novelty items and writing implements, including writing pads, inkwells and toys.

Mathieu Béfort, known as Béfort Jeune (1813-1880)

Named Béfort Jeune in Le Bottin du Commerce, Béfort practiced his trade from 1843 to 1879. At the start of his career, he was based at 4 rue Neuve Saint-Gilles, where he worked as a marquetry joiner. He specialized in antique furniture. In 1848, his workshop was described as follows: « Béfort Jeune, marqueteur, spécialité de meubles de Boule (sic) et Riesener, bois rose, porcelaine et mosaïque ». As part of a dynasty, it is highly likely that the father's work overlapped with that of his two sons and that the son occasionally finished or repaired his father's furniture, which may create a dating problem for Louis XIV style furniture. There is little documentation on this generation of cabinetmakers, despite their popularity. Most of Béfort Jeune's furniture has been listed with the makers' names signed on the underside of the bronzes. The majority of Béfort Jeune furniture is a pastiche of the Louis XIV style, adapting Ancien Régime models to the reduced size of 19th century rooms, and favoring the revival of Boulle furniture in the Louis XVI style.

For several known examples of collaboration between Giroux and Mathieu Béfort: see Christie’s London 29 November 2016, lot 349 (a Napoleon III Boulle marquetred cabinet) and lot 351 (a pair of Napoleon III Boulle marquetry pedestals).