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Ader

62 - Greek-style chest of drawers in mottled mahogany, the projec…
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Estimate €40,000 - €60,000
Sale commission
Description
Greek-style chest of drawers in mottled mahogany, the projecting front opens to reveal a writing drawer, two small drawers and two doors; the top is of violet breccia marble with double moulding, resting on rounded uprights (originally decorated with scrolls) ending in curved legs; (some restoration; the five-lock mechanism refitted at a later date). Attributed to Jean-François Oeben Louis XV period, circa 1760–1765 H.: 81.5 cm, W.: 134 cm, D.: 54 cm Bibliography: J. Cordey, Inventaire des biens de Madame de Pompadour, Paris, 1939. A. Pradère, Madame de Pompadour et le goût grec, Connaissance des arts, December 1989, no. 454, pp. 106–109. The term ‘Greek-style chest of drawers’ refers to a type defined by Alexandre Pradère (op. cit.), and refers to a very specific model of chest of drawers with a central projection framed by doors, designed by Jean-François Oeben, whose distinctive feature lies in an elaborate locking system, with a single lock, controlling all the drawers and doors of the front. A brief description appears in 1763 in the posthumous inventory of Jean-François Oeben, who was undoubtedly Madame de Pompadour’s official cabinetmaker, "Item, two chests of drawers in solid mahogany, (...) each fitted with three drawers, in the centre two small doors on the side, valued together at 220 livres". The chest of drawers presented here is a variation on the Greek-style chest of drawers, differing in its function whilst retaining an exterior appearance identical to the standard model. The upper row of drawers, which usually opens in three sections, is here replaced by a single drawer containing a shelf forming a writing surface. The earliest examples of this chest of drawers model, invented by Jean-François Oeben and entirely new in the early 1760s, are most likely those delivered to the Marquise de Pompadour at the Château de Ménars. The inventory drawn up after Madame de Pompadour’s death reveals that she owned seventeen ‘Greek-style’ chests of drawers at Ménars, twelve of which were made of mahogany and valued at between 180, 200 and 240 livres. Madame de Pompadour acquired Ménars in June 1760 and undertook extensive renovation and refurbishment work in a decidedly “modern” style. It was during this period that she paid Jean-François Oeben 17,400 livres “as a deposit for furniture to be supplied for her various residences” and that he purchased “thirty-four planks of mahogany (...) on the orders and on behalf of the said Marquise de Pompadour to be used to make furniture for the said lady’s various residences”. On the Marquise’s death, Ménars and its contents passed to her brother, the Marquis de Marigny, who continued the work he had begun. Unlike what he did with his other residences, he kept Ménars virtually intact, probably due to the modernity of its furnishings. It is interesting to compare this chest of drawers with the one from the former Karl Lagerfeld collection sold at Christie’s in Monaco on 28 April 2000, lot 78, described as probably originating from the apartments of the Château de Ménars, owned by Madame de Pompadour. Among the various chests of drawers listed, it is particularly worth noting the one sold in Paris, at Sotheby’s on 10 November 2009, lot 81; the one from the former Safra collection; and another sold at Christie’s Paris on 30 November 2016, lot 5, the one sold at Sotheby’s Paris on 11 April 2018, lot 142, as well as the two chests of drawers, sold at Bonhams, Paris, on 22 April 2026, lot 34; to these chests of drawers should be added the one presented in the exhibition at Versailles (18th century, the origins of design, exhibition catalogue, 2014, no. 52, p. 188) belonging to a private collection.
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About the sale Antique paintings - Decorative Arts
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Auction time 06/16/2026 at 2:30 PM
Lot description modified on 06/13/2026 at 12:10 PM
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