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a chair and a table in a room with pictures on the walla wooden box with a painting on it on a black backgrounda bear that is standing in the grass on a hilla plaque on the ground that says from duveen old bond streeta close up of a wooden box with a label on it
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58 - LOUIS XV-PERIOD COFFEE TABLE Marked ‘Leonard Boudin’ In rose…
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Estimate €2,500 - €4,000
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Description
LOUIS XV-PERIOD COFFEE TABLE Marked ‘Leonard Boudin’ In rosewood and amaranth veneer with floral marquetry on a background of holly and stained holly, with applied chiselled and gilded bronze ornamentation; the top is decorated in the centre with a pastoral scene set within a border adorned with trophies against a latticework background, the skirt opening to reveal a drawer; the legs are arched; stamped twice with ‘L.BOUDIN’ and bearing the JME guild mark beneath the front crossbar; a label reading ‘Collection de Monsieur le Baron Henri de Rothschild FR 95 ’ and a red wax seal engraved ‘DOUANE DE PARIS’ beneath the rim, printed label ‘FROM /DUVEEN/21/OLD BOND STREET’ inside the drawer; wear and losses to the veneer, the veneer faded by sunlight H.: 73 cm (28 ¾ in.) W.: 55 cm (21 ¾ in.) D.: 34.5 cm (13 ½ in.) Léonard Boudin, admitted as a master in 1761 Provenance: Almost certainly from the former collection of Lord Henry Thynne; Christie’s London sale, 20–21 June 1899, lot 208; Joseph Duveen (1869–1939); Formerly in the collection of Baron Henri de Rothschild (1872–1947); Then, by inheritance, to the present owners. Comparative bibliography: G. De Bellaigue, *The James A. De Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor*, 1974, vol. II, pp. 467–478. A Louis XV gilt-bronze-mounted occasional table in tulipwood, amaranth and marquetry, stamped by Leonard Boudin The top of this elegant table is veneered with a marquetry composition centred on a bucolic landscape within an oval cartouche. Surrounding this are panels with mosaic backgrounds—which were very much in vogue at the time—depicting three trophies. These symbolise war, hunting, gardening and pastoral activities, and are derived from a series of six trophies designed and engraved by Gilles Demarteau the Elder (1722–1776), entitled ‘Several Trophies Drawn and Engraved by Demarteau the Elder’ (cf. figs. 1–2–3), published in Paris in the mid-18th century (cf. G. de Bellaligue, ibid., pp. 470–471). A very similar table, marked by Pierre Roussel and featuring a top with comparable trophies, formerly belonged to the collection of Sidney J. Lamon (Christie’s London sale on 29 November 1973, lot 95, then Christie’s New York, 2 December 1998, lot 150). Similar trophies also appear on the top of a table marked ‘Boudin’, where they frame a large Chinese scene (formerly in the collection of Mrs Charles Allen Jr., Sotheby’s New York auction, 1 November 1997, lot 85) or on a table marked ‘Boudin’ from the collections of Viscount Allendale (Christie’s London auction, 7 July 2005, lot 315). The example most closely resembling our own—combining a similar trophy motif on the tabletop with floral marquetry on the front and sides—is unmarked and held in the National Trust’s collection at Waddesdon Manor (see fig. 4). Through their combination of mechanisms and figurative marquetry within scroll-cut frames, these tables are derived from examples produced in the late 1750s and early 1760s by Jean-François Oeben. The various hallmarks identified show that a number of cabinetmakers continued to cater to this older style; some of them may have acted primarily as dealers. As very similar marquetry patterns are found on pieces of furniture marked by different cabinetmakers, it has been suggested that the figurative panels may have been executed by specialist marquetry craftsmen who supplied them to several workshops. It should be noted, however, that most of these tables display a remarkable unity of design and drawing. Our table is most certainly the example that appeared in the sale of Lord Henry Thynne’s collections in 1899, where it is described as follows: “208. A LOUIS XV, OBLONG-SHAPED MARQUETERIE TABLE, with drawer, the top beautifully inlaid with a landscape, figures of a shepherd and shepherdess, and trees in a scroll panel, within trellis-pattern borders featuring musical, amatory and hunting trophies, and with panels of flowers round the sides, and mounted with corner ornaments and escutcheons of finely chased or-molu, and a brass border – 21 1/2 in. wide – stamped ‘BOUDIN, Maitre Ebeniste’”. As for the Duveen label found in the drawer of this piece, it refers to Joseph Duveen (1869–1939), one of the most famous British antique dealers and art merchants of the early 20th century. *Information for buyers: For export from the EU, a CITES re-export certificate may be required, the cost of which will be borne by the prospective buyer. *Information to buyers: For export from the EU, a CITES re-export certificate will be required, at the buyer’s expense.
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About the sale The Rothschild taste, passed down through the generations: A pied-à-terre on the Champ-de-Mars
Auction location
Auction time 09/22/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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