Exceptional Secretary With Flap Louis XVI Period, Stamped Lemasle.

Secretary with flap in marquetry of ruins and landscapes Louis XVI period, stamped LEMASLE. This spectacular secretary is in rosewood marquetry and various exotic species decorated with landscapes and ruins. Uprights with cut sides, opening with a flap at the top and two leaves at the bottom. Stamped Lemasle. Louis XVI period. H x W x D: 143 x 78 x 37 cm -- According to "The cabinetmakers of the 18th century by François de Salverte" LEMASLE operated a cabinetmaking store in Nantes, Place Saint-Nicolas, towards the end of Louis' reign XVI. Without belonging to the carpenters' corporation, he had the majority of his goods manufactured at his own expense, in a workshop where he employed a dozen workers. In 1795 there still existed in Nantes, opposite the Stock Exchange, a furniture factory run by the Lemasle brothers, undoubtedly sons of the previous one. Bibliography: 1-F. by Salverte, cabinetmakers of the 18th century, Paris, 1975, pl. LX 2-O. Brackett, Catalog of the Jones Collection, vol.1, pl. 35-36, No. 65-67 3-G. de Bellaigue, Ruins in Marquetry, Apollo, 1968 4-G. de Bellaigue, Engravings and the French eighteenth-century marqueteur, Burlington Magazine, May 1965, pp. 240-250 5-T. Dell, Furniture in the Frick Collection, vol. V, Princeton 1992, p. 364 6 Pierre Kjellberg, French furniture from the 18th century, page 521. What we think of it: a truly spectacular piece of furniture and in excellent condition. The bronzes are original. They are less exuberant so as not to steal the show from this exceptional marquetry. The marble (repaired) is also original, very thick and Languedoc red in color. The reasonable price of course takes into account the sharp drop in prices over the last 20 years. An excellent investment to treat yourself. Did you know ? The fashion for furniture inlaid with architectural decorations spread in the 1770s, at the same time as the neoclassical movement developed. Cabinetmakers continue to draw their models from engravings by ornamentalists but the inspiration follows a broader register in accordance with the return of the taste for the antique. Architectures, ruins, port scenes, trophies, vases complete the flower and scroll motifs. The most sophisticated pieces, such as our secretary, are commissioned works as demonstrated by Geoffroy de Bellaigue, (3-4), the client choosing according to his tastes the engravings to be reproduced.