COMMODE Louis XV, Paris, ca. 1730–40. Charles Cressent (1685–1768). Partially illegibly stamped: J. BOURD[x].

COMMODE

Louis XV, Paris, ca. 1730–40. Charles Cressent (1685–1768). Partially illegibly stamped: J. BOURD[x].
Rosewood and kingwood, inlaid in geometric reserves and with stringing, partly quarter-veneered. Shaped front with two drawers above a prominently shaped apron, on cabriole legs. The shaped sides inlaid with a quarter-veneered lozenge within a rectangular reserve, waisted at the bottom. Red and grey speckled marble top with moulded edge (probably replaced). Rich gilt-bronze mounts.
132 × 64 × 83.5 cm.
Signs of use and losses; slightly faded.

Provenance:
- Collection of Fanny and Bernard Watel, Lausanne.
- By descent into the present ownership.

Charles Cressent, born in Amiens in 1685 as the son of a "maître sculpteur", is regarded, alongside André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732), as one of the pioneers of the Régence style and one of the most important cabinetmakers of his time. It is therefore all the more remarkable that, according to current knowledge, he apparently never qualified as a "maître ébéniste". His biography provides an illuminating insight into the strict guild system of the so-called "jurandes", which regulated the crafts and trades—on the one hand to ensure high standards of quality, and on the other to protect economic and political interests.

Cressent trained in the workshop of his father, François Cressent, in Amiens, completing his training as a "maître sculpteur" in 1708. In recognition of his exceptional abilities, he was later appointed "sculpteur du Roy et de l’Académie Saint-Luc". Alexandre Pradère suggests that Cressent was able to operate a large workshop in Paris producing costly furniture solely by virtue of a privilege granted by the King, despite there being no record of his qualification as a "maître ébéniste" (cf. Alexandre Pradère, "Charles Cressent", Dijon 2003). There he employed cabinetmakers, bronze founders and sculptors. His repeated conflicts with the guilds are documented by legal proceedings brought against the guild of "maîtres fondeurs" (bronze founders) in 1723.

His training as a sculptor is evident throughout his œuvre. Sculpturally conceived clocks and, in particular, the exceptionally fine bronze mounts testify to a highly developed sense of sculptural form.

The commode offered here belongs to a type dating from the 1730s and 1740s which Pradère describes as “Commodes à doubles crosses en S et chute de fleurs” (Pradère 2003, pp. 165–167, 283–285). Characteristic features include the centrally arranged, opposing S-scroll bronze mounts and the cascading floral ornaments below. Comparable examples are found, among others, at the Château de Thoiry and in the Vanderbilt-Széchenyi and Eugène Kraemer collections. Not only the design but also the construction and choice of materials correspond to known works by Cressent: softwood as the secondary wood and walnut for the drawers. The indistinct stamp on the present piece may be that of a cabinetmaker who worked for Cressent; alternatively, it may have been applied in connection with a later restoration.