Louis XIV Chest of Drawers with Lattice Marquetry, France, Early 1700s

Rectangular chest of drawers on four block feet with rounded corners and two large drawers on three levels, one above the other and two small drawers next to each other. Elaborate latticework marquetry in rectangular reserves on front and both sides, blind walnut wood. All drawers are lockable, each with its own key, the keyholes are decorated with gilded bronze frames in Louis XIV style. A profiled top of "Campan Grand Melange" marble serves as the top finish. Although this excellent chest of drawers bears no stamp (stamping of furniture did not become common practice until after 1745), it shows a clear closeness in style and quality to works by the important Louis XIV period ebenist, Etienne Doirat (1675-1732). Étienne Doirat came from a family of ebenists who had been based in Paris since the beginning of the 17th century. It was only towards the end of his career that Doirat began stamping his furniture and, accordingly, only a few pieces bear his name and can serve as comparative pieces for newly discovered furniture. He made several types of furniture, including chests of drawers, cabinets, corner cupboards, and tables, often decorated with simple geometric marquetry in exotic woods. Doirat sought to retain exclusive control over the models for his bronze appliqués, even though he himself did not make them in his workshop. In 1731, a year before his death, Doirat established a store to sell his work on the Rue Saint Honoré, the famous street for luxury merchants. After his death, the business was taken over by his son-in-law, who was also a cabinetmaker. Doirats furniture can be found in many famous international museums, such as the Musée Carnavalet and the Petit Palais in Paris, the J.Paul Getty Museum in Malibu and the Hermitage in St.Peterburg. Cf.: Pierre Kjellberg: Le Mobilier Francais du XVIII Siècle, Paris, 2008, pp. 302-305. Condition: very good, min. signs of age and use. min. abrasion, shellac polish refreshed.