The Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection, A Family Collection, A National Museum, An International Treasure House

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Chest-of-drawers
  • Chest-of-drawers
  • Jean-Henri Riesener (1734 - 1806)
  • France
  • 1780
    by 1865 (various alterations made, eg. current marble top added, cornice changed and new mount fixed on apron)
  • Oak, veneered with amaranth, green-stained sycamore, burr walnut, stringings of ebony and box, fret-pattern marquetry of satiné, holly and stained sycamore, oval marquetry medallion in stained woods on a ground of sycamore originally stained blue, top of vert des Alpes marble, steel lock plate in between main drawers, steel key.
  • Object size: 92 x 122.4 x 54.8 cm
  • Inscription: 'No 3063' Painted
    Inscription: '14/5/43 / F.F' In chalk
  • F247
  • Study
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  • Chest-of-drawers of oak, veneered with purpleheart, sycamore, satiné, holly and other woods, mounted with gilt-bronze. This chest-of-drawers is probably the one supplied on 9 December 1780 for Marie-Antoinette’s private study at Versailles. The delicate gilt-bronze flower mounts including the cipher of the Queen greatly appealed to Marie-Antoinette’s taste and Riesener went on to produce many pieces of furniture in this style for her. The pastoral trophy on the front of the commode was designed to match one of the trophies in
    the wall-silk designed by Jacques Gondoin (1737-1818) in 1779 for the room and woven at Lyons by Jean Charton. The marquetry has faded now, but the natural and stained colours of the woods would once have included yellow, green, pink and blue, matching the original wall-silk.