Provenance

Extraordinary Louis XIV Centre /Center Table

An Extraordinary 19th Century French Marquetry and Parquetry Centre Table with boulle inlay floral and bird motifs, by Jean François Oében, Paris, Circa: 1840. Ormolu mounts on each corner and around the top edge are decorated with great quality bronzes.

This exquisite piece features a single, frieze center drawer with foliate sprays fitted into the serpentine, cabrochon frontal apron.

Subdued curves assert the innate grace of the rocco style in a classic boulle table design that uses translucent lacquer of Vern’s Martin. Graceful cabriole legs have decorative adjunts using lavish, gilt-bronze mounts of Ciseleur’s art with gilding of ground gold.

The oak clad veneer is excellent quality, with well-chosen use of kingwood, fruitwood, tulipwood, satinwood and mahogany marquetry. This beautifully executed table emulating the Régence style of Charles Cressent incorporates wooden goujon joinery into the mortise and tenon joint.

The profuse decoration on the inlaid serpentine top is very unusual and colorful in the manner of Joseph Cremer (c1855) and supported by spliced legs with asymmetrical rococo foliage applied.

This is a stunning example of the period.

Height: 30″ (76.2 cm)

Width: 52″ (132 cm)

Depth: 32″ (81.28 cm)

History

The table’s earliest known origin was when Evelyn Murphy purchased the table from the executors of Henry Clay Frick of the Frick Mansion in New York City. Miss Murphy owned the table until her death when it passed on to Mrs. A.E. Penney and later to Mrs. E.M. Gordon.

This table is believed to have originally been made for the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855, but has a handwritten note that lists the period between 1672 to 1727. The age of this table has not been substantiated.

Evaluation

A similar piece was sold at Christie’s in 1958, setting a record price for the period of 34,000 guineas or USD$99,960.00. A newspaper clipping around October 25th of 1971, indicates a strikingly similar table made by Jean François Oében for Madame de Pompadour, the favorite of Louis XV brought USD $410,000.00 at auction.

The middle aged man who was the successful bidder refused to identify himself, but is believed to have been Henry Clay Frick. (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919)

A Louis XIV ormolu-mounted ebony, blue-stained horn, brass, pewter, tortoiseshell, Boulle, and wood marquetry center table, c. 1685, sold for $5,726,000 in November 2000 at Christies New York, Rockefeller Center.

A Fine and Rare Louis XIV Ormula-mounted Ebony, Brass And Tortoiseshell Boulle Marquetry Commode from the Eric Greenberg Collection was sold by Sotheby’s New York for USD$1,688,000. in May of 2004

A desk made by royal cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener is back in the Versailles Palace after being acquired by the French state for 6.75 million euros ($9.4 million).

There has not been a similar piece of this quality available since that time.