Chest Of Drawers Stamped étienne Doirat (1675-1732)

A Real Jewel: Exceptional and Rare Bird Chest of Drawers. Stamped Etienne DOIRAT (1675-1732), Flower Marquetry Chest of Drawers with a different Bird in Precious Wood Marquetry, on each handle, The Bronze Pull Handles are magnificent. It opens on the front with 3 Large Drawers. It rests on small arched feet fitted with Gilded Bronze Clogs. The sides are in marquetry decorated with a bouquet of Flowers in which we also discover a bird in precious wood marquetry. It measures 130 CM in Length, 64 CM in Depth and 90 CM in Height, It is in excellent condition, DOIRAT Étienne Etienne Doirat (1675-1732) - cabinetmaker. One of the rare great cabinetmakers of the Regency to use a stamp. These pieces of furniture are often made of amaranth or violet wood, veneered in leaves or inlaid with grids. Coming from a family of craftsmen – earthenware makers, carpenters – established since the early years of the 17th century in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Etienne Doirat is the son of the mason Joseph Doirat and Michelle Ferlu, sister of Pierre-Isaac Ferlu, master merchant-cabinetmaker. His younger brother Pierre-Michel will follow the path of master cabinetmaker like him. It was in the early years of the 18th century that he obtained his master's letters. He worked all his life on rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine for a wealthy French but also foreign clientele. Often of a sublime character, his furniture belongs mainly to the Regency style. Chests of drawers constitute the majority of his production. An inventory drawn up on 14 July 1732 mentions a large number of them, "in tombs" or "in the Regency" but also notes a few large bookcases, cupboards, secretaries, regulators and various models of gaming or living room tables. These pieces of furniture are frequently made of amaranth or violet wood, veneered in leaves or inlaid with squares. Doirat makes extensive use of bronzes and of fine quality - made by collaborators who were founders and chasers - where traditional elements such as the mascarons from the time of Louis XIV respond to the busts of women or "Espagnolettes" of the Regency or to the various motifs in a typically Rocaille style. He sometimes adorns the front of his chests of drawers without crosspieces with a large bronze cartouche that his successors later largely took up. In this area, Doirat reveals himself to be one of the great creators of decorative formulas and techniques - glories of Parisian cabinetmaking during the reign of Louis XV. MUSEUMS Chest of drawers - Petit Palais Chest of drawers - J. Paul Getty Museum Chest of drawers - Cleveland Museum of Art BIBLIOGRAPHY French Furniture of the 18th Century - Pierre Kjellberg - Les Editions de l'Amateur - 1989 Cabinetmakers of the 18th Century - Comte François de Salverte - Les éditions d'Art et d'Histoire - 1934