A Régence gilt-bronze mounted, gilt-brass and ebonised wood marquetry bureau...

opening with three frieze drawers, the central drawer centred by a splayed plume, the sides with masks of Hercules draped in the Nemean lion's pelt, on cabriole legs headed by female masks and ending in scrolled sabots, stamped twice N. PETIT and JME

Height 31 in., width 77 1/2 in., depth 38 1/2 in. ; Haut. 78,5 cm, larg. 197 cm, prof. 98 cm

Catalogue Note:
This bureau plat belongs to a fairly well-known corpus of works, attributed to two ébénistes: Noël Gérard and François Lieutaud. These desks are characterised by their form, the use of dark veneers, the distinctive broken curve above the legs, and the use of several sets of bronze mounts. The discovery of the FL stamp of François Lieutaud on the desk preserved at the Residenz Ansbach prompted further research into this group, this research revealed various differences and allowed a sub-classification to be established among the aforementioned desks (C. Graf von Pfeil, Die Möbel der Residenz Ansbach, Munich, 1999, no. 10, p. 76-78).

Among the desks attributed to Noël Gérard are the example in the Toledo Museum of Art (A. Pradère, Les Ébénistes français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, Paris, 1989, p. 112-114), the desk sold with the dispersal of the Earl of Stair's collection (Christie's, London, 6 April 1978, lot 58), and the amaranth-veneered example sold with the collection of Hubert de Saint Senoch (Sotheby's, Monaco, 4 December 1983, lot 290). This attribution is reinforced by the presence of the NG stamp on the marquetry desk from the collection of the Marquess of Bute (Christie's, London, 3 July 1996, lot 50), which bears, on its sides, the same characteristic mask of Hercules draped in the skin of the Nemean lion, a motif also found on the Stair desk and on the present example. The desks from the Residenz Ansbach and Bamberg, together with the desk preserved at the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, meanwhile, all appear to derive from the workshop of François Lieutaud.

Noël Gérard's use of certain gilt-bronze mounts suggests that he acquired bronzes from the sons of André-Charles Boulle following the latter's death in 1732, and produced aftercasts from them. Notable in this regard is a desk stamped NG, with copies of André-Charles Boulle's bronze models, sold at Sotheby's, Paris, Collection Jean-Marie Rossi, 10 March 2026, lot 55.

Boulle's influence is furthermore evident in Gérard's work; the massive proportions of this desk, combined with certain mounts characteristic of the Boulle style and the use of inlaid brass stringing on an ebonised ground (façon ébène), recall the little-known creations of Boulle fils during the 1730s.

Provenance from Thrumpton Hall

At the end of the 18th century, the brothers Nicholas Wescomb, owner of Langford Grove, and John Emerton Wescomb, owner of Thrumpton Hall, were two learned collectors known for their correspondence. John Emerton Wescomb, owner of Thrumpton, helped his brother in his search for furniture. In one of their letters he writes:

"I wish I knew what you want, besides a sofa. I will endeavour to get catalogues, and if I have time extract some of the principal articles."

In a letter dated 3 March 1792, John describes an important auction taking place at the time: those of the "Marquis de Lauzerne". It is therefore entirely possible that our bureau plat was acquired in the late 18th century at this sale by John Emerton Wescomb or his nephew. The bureau is recorded at Thrumpton in 1838, on the death of John Emerton Wescomb, and remained in the house until 1968.

In 1912, the owner of Thrumpton Hall, Lucy Byron (née Wescomb), died. It was between that date and 1916 that her nephew and heir, the 10th Lord Byron, came to live at Thrumpton, bringing furniture from Langford.

Anne-César, Marquis de La Luzerne (1741-1791)

The "Marquis de Lauzerne" corresponds to Anne-César, Marquis de La Luzerne, French Minister to the United States from 1779 to 1784, where he played an important role with the Continental Congress. Louis XVI created him a marquis in 1785 in recognition of his services. Appointed ambassador to London in 1788, he died in September 1791. An honorary fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1781) and a founding member of the Society of the Cincinnati (1783), he gave his name to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

A sale of his effects took place in London in March 1792, some six months after his death, as attested by the Wescomb correspondence and by Gouverneur Morris in a letter to Alexander Hamilton dated 21 March.

Provenance:
Almost certainly acquired by either John Emerton (Wescomb), possibly from the collection of the marquis de la Luzerne in London, or by his nephew John Emerton (Wescomb) (d.1838), for Thrumpton Hall, Nottinghamshire, where it is recorded in 1838;

Thence by descent to George Seymour, Esq., and the Trustees of Lord Byron's Will, Thrumpton Hall, (Nottinghamshire);

Christie's London, 30 May 1968, lot 107 (7,000 Guineas to Malletts);

Christie's, London, 6 December...