Secretaire A Flap Louis XVI Period Stamped Jb Tuart Paris, Circa 1775 - 1780

SECRETARY WITH FLAT LOUIS XVI PERIOD Stamped JB TUART PARIS, circa 1775 - 1780 Dimensions: Height: 165 cm; width: 96 cm; depth: 40 cm Provenance: former collection of Daniel and Sylvia Wildenstein Beautiful secretary, richly inlaid, opening with a flap, two leaves in the lower part and a drawer in the upper part. The flap is decorated with a luxurious marquetry decoration presenting a music trophy, with doves and olive branches, all placed under a canopy with a rich hanging on either side of the central composition. The flap reveals four lockers and six drawers decorated with flowers. The leaves and sides of the secretary are also decorated with bouquets of flowers. The uprights, with cut sides, have simulated fluting and falling gilded bronzes. White veined marble top. Condition: secretary recently restored. This type of decor with a music trophy placed under a canopy, although rare, is found among other Parisian cabinetmakers. Thus, for comparison, we can mention a secretary stamped by Roussel, kept at the Huntington collection in Los Angeles, or a secretary stamped by Bircklé sold by Millon & Associés on July 2, 2001. The presence of quivers, arrows and garlands of flowers tells us that this piece of furniture, stylistically designed around 1775-1780, was probably made for the boudoir of an elegant and fashionable woman. Jean-Baptiste TUART II is the son of Jean-Baptiste Tuart I, a Parisian master cabinetmaker. Around 1760 he established himself as a master table maker and mercer, rue Fromenteau then rue Saint-Honoré, in the luxury merchants' district. Around 1770-1775, he was one of the most renowned furniture and porcelain dealers in Paris. He subsequently became a master cabinetmaker, at an unknown date. His first pieces of furniture, marked by the end of the Louis XV style, bear the “Tuart Fils” stamp. But it is best known for quality furniture, in an assertive Louis XVI style, and bearing a second “JB Tuart” stamp. A leading haberdashery merchant but also a remarkable marqueter, he worked in collaboration with other cabinetmakers, notably Bury and Boudin. This secretary comes from the private collection of Daniel and Sylvia Wildenstein. Daniel Wildenstein (1917-2001), is the 3rd representative of the famous dynasty of art dealers and a renowned art historian. After studying at the Sorbonne, Daniel Wildenstein organized various exhibitions and public events around art. From 1963 to 2001, he directed the Gazette des Beaux-Arts. On the death of his father, Georges, Daniel Wildenstein took over the management of the family gallery, founded by his grandfather and which then included offices in Paris, London and New York. In 1970, Daniel founded the Wildenstein Institute which published the catalog raisonné of numerous painters, including that of Claude Monet. Daniel Wildenstein had a remarkable collection of impressionist paintings although he did not limit himself to this period. In 1978, his collection notably consisted of 20 Renoirs, 25 Courbets, 10 van Goghs, 10 Cézannes, 10 Gauguins, 2 Botticellis, 8 Rembrandts, 8 Rubens, 9 El Greco, 5 Tintorettos, and a large quantity of Bonnards, i.e. all about 10,000 paintings.