Pierre-benoit Marcion, Empire Period Golden Wood Leg Stool Early 19th Century

Pierre Benoît Marcion (1769 - 1840) Carpenter and Jean-Jacques Werner (1791-1849) Upholsterer Footstool Molded and gilded walnut Paris, Empire period Around 1811 H. 18; 40; 34 cm Provenance: A Monaco apartment Beautiful and rare footstool made entirely of gilded wood. It rests on four feet turned into a ball at the outer end, the rectilinear quadrangular belt without dice, the hollow bottom decorated with five rosettes on the long sides, four on the short sides. Rear trim of horsehair on strap. The belt is hot stamped WERNER, the straps bear the label “Le Garde-Meuble Public, Bedel & Cie, 18 rue Saint-Augustin n°9056” Our footstool is part of a small production of ceremonial furniture . We can compare it to the stools delivered by MARCION in 1811 delivered for the 4th Salon de l'Empereur in Compiègne which take the essence of wood (golden walnut), the shape, the decor and the dimensions of the one we are presenting. Another similar model was delivered in 1811 for the bedroom of the Grands-Appartements of the Château de Meudon. The hot iron stamp on the inside of the Werner crosspiece refers to the brand of the upholsterer who was one of the greatest decorators in vogue during the Restoration. Comparable models delivered by MARCION: Foot stool delivered for the fourth salon of the Emperor in Compiègne, Mobilier National, No. GME-1676-003 Foot stool delivered for the Emperor's fourth living room in Compiègne, Mobilier National, No. GME-1676-002 Foot stool delivered for the adults' bedroom apartments of the Château de Meudon, Mobilier National, N° GMT-1468-00 Pierre Benoît MARCION (1769-1840) In 1798, Pierre Benoît Marcion established his workshop-store on rue Neuve des-Petits-Champs, under the sign "aux Égyptiens " where he announces to his customers "a choice of genre furniture, in mahogany wood richly decorated with bronzes, according to the beautiful forms of Etruscan, Egyptian, Greek and Roman Antiquities." His business becoming more and more important, he transferred his establishment to rue Helvétius then rue Saint Marc. The artist is gifted. Its well-proportioned furniture is decorated with care, discretion and originality. He began to receive more and more orders from the Garde Meuble until, around 1805, he became one of Napoleon's main cabinetmakers for whom he made chests of drawers, consoles, secretaries and bookcases. He furnished Le Petit Trianon, Fontainebleau, Saint Cloud, the Tuileries, but his main work remains the bed of the Empress Marie Louise executed in 1809 in gilded walnut, richly carved with swans, garlands and foliage. Le Garde Meuble wrote about him that "his furniture combines the perfect quality of the materials with the finish of the manufacturing, the regularity of the proportions... Monsieur Marcion is one of the cabinetmakers in Paris who has the furniture made with the more perfection" Marcion will cease his activities in 1817 and retire to Château-Thierry. On the death of his wife he returned to Paris to die there in 1840. Bibliography: Marcion - Napoleon's cabinetmaker - Jean-Pierre Planchon - Saint-Rémy-en-l'Eau, Monelle Hayot - 2007, a similar model page 50 and 146 French Furniture of the 18th Century - Pierre Kjellberg - Les Editions de l'Amateur - 2008