Decorative Art. Albert Jacquemart
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is easy to fix an approximate date to the principal modifications we have just pointed out. The stipi simply relieved by columns and medallions of pietra dura, which we might designate as gemmed furniture, belong to the last days of the Renaissance. In the reign of Louis XIII, it is classed as the gilded furniture with real mosaics still retaining the architectural disposition which we pointed out in the carved ebony. A new phase appears under Louis XIV; the small pieces of furniture have disappeared, the “Sun” king requires a far different grandeur from the diminutive monuments; the pietra dura work of Florence is not discarded, on the contrary it is destined to cover those enormous tables with gilded feet on which bronze and porphyry vases stand. But more than that, without seeking it from Italy, it will be executed in Parisian workshops of the Gobelins, founded by the king and directed by Charles Le Brun.
Magnificent specimens of this work may be seen in the Galerie d’Apollon of the Louvre; it is easy to recognise it by the style of its arabesques, the palmette, shells and wreaths which surround the royal escutcheons. Upon comparing them with the mosaics of Italian origin, we find equal perfection and intelligence in the patient choice of the elements. While we are speaking of patience, we refer the connoisseur to that table on which a member belonging to the king’s household has represented the map of France divided into provinces, with all of the legends carefully inlaid.
The vast conception of Louis XIV did not prevent the Florentine mosaic work from being applied to smaller objects: we have mentioned clocks and we now return to them. Every amateur will have remarked at the Exhibition of the Corps législatif, a clock belonging to Gustave de Rothschild, the richness of which was unrivalled. Its carved base of variegated jasper had a bronze gilt palm at its centre, whence a bunch of flowers hung suspended. The body, with circular pediment and angular sides, was framed in bronze gilt with masks crowned by a palmette that supported two cornucopias filled with flowers in stones. On a lapis lazuli bottom, the dial stood in relief surrounded by a garland of fruits and flowers in stones enriched by rubies and emeralds which hung down on both sides. Underneath, surrounded by similar garlands, was a female bust executed in stones and framed in bronze. At the corners, gilt-bronze caryatids representing the arts and sciences supported the entablature surmounted by an ebony dome, inlaid with gilt-bronze and enclosed by an open gallery; the dome was crowned by a basket filled with fruit coloured stones. If we have dwelt so long on the description of this piece, it is because it is of well-known interest; it is not a mere mosaic of stones, it is a sculpture in bas-relief in some parts, and in high relief in others. The form of this work of art is remarkable; it is the so-called pendule religieuse of the period of Louis XIV and the beauty of the materials employed with the perfection of its workmanship rank it amongst masterpieces of the highest class.
The establishment of the Gobelins workshop for mosaic work proves the great value attached to this costly work, so appropriate for the luxury of Versailles. Indeed, it is among the inlaid Boulle that, when placed in contact with silverware and vases of hard material, these mosaics appear to the greatest advantage; their splendour eclipses carved and inlaid ebony, and makes even the finest patina of the bronzes appear cold.
Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi, known as Lo Scheggia, and workshop, Unindentified Story, detail: Bedridden Character, 1465–1470. Poplar wood, cut on the first or last board of the trunk, 45 × 174.7 × 1.5 cm. Castle of Écouen, Musée national de la Renaissance.
Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi, known as Lo Scheggia, Aeneas and Antenor Plotting against Troy, 1455–1460. Poplar wood, cut on the first or last board of the trunk, 42.9 × 155 × 4 cm. Castle of Écouen, Musée national de la Renaissance.
Furniture styled with brass carving
To remove the natural gloomy appearance of ebony and give it the lustre we like to see combined with ornament, it sufficed to relieve it with the application of chiselled bronze coated over with a warm and solid gilding called ormolu. The cabinet makers of the 17th century did this, and from that time the chiselling of bronze became an important trade and one of the principal specialities of furniture. Frames with masks and palmettes, mouldings cut in delicate ornamentation, mythological bas-reliefs, statuettes introduced as appendages, were combined with those designs which, at first simple, and then by degrees more and more complicated, inertly led from the reign of Louis XIII to the exaggerated style of the Regency.
But this is no argument that ebony furniture with gilt metal mountings was frequent. Quite the contrary; it constitutes one of those curious transitions which show a search after some unknown idea not yet discovered. It is no longer the carved and engraved furniture acknowledged as too severe, nor is it that which in its dazzling elegance was to find its place in the palaces of Louis XIV. Also there is no doubt that conjointly with the plating of Boulle, ebony with gilded bronze would be found at a later period in the dwellings of serious-looking magistrates or Jansenists living according to austere morals.
Moreover, the search for a new, and still undetermined, form is manifested here and in many cases ebony disappears to make way for more coy marquetry. Large surfaces have a border in which the fibres are arranged perpendicularly to the lines of the outer edge, the panels show the wood divided into four parts and arranged in opposition to each other in a herringbone fashion, which means the slanting fibres form a chevron at the point of junction in the centre. This provision will grow much more in the veneered marquetry of different woods, which we will discuss later.
This change in workmanship and style coincides with a radical modification in furnishing which is about to strike boldly into the modern path. Ebony inlaid with brass is used in bouts de bureaux, a species of closed secretaire with drawers and pigeon-holes, surmounted by a clock with figures often of very fine workmanship. At the same time clocks make their appearance on pedestals, book-cases and monumental armoires arise in imposing bulk with pilasters and arched headings. Commodes with drawers are soon substituted for the pieces of furniture derived from the cabinet, with the lower part closed by double doors, beneath which appear a species of drawers sliding on inner grooves. This style, as we see, is entirely a style of transition and often exhibits the same arrangement as the Boulle furniture.
The most remarkable bout de bureau we have ever seen is that belonging to Gustave de Rothschild, which appeared at the Exhibition for the benefit of Alsace and Lorraine. The lower part, rectangular and open on the sides, bore on its front a trophy of musical instruments tied by ribbons, and on the sides masks crowned with palmettes and acanthus leaves in gilt metal. The upper part, narrower at the top with two folding doors ornamented with palmette crowned masks, was united to the base by arched flowerings falling back in a fretwork against their bases. Brackets projected from the recesses to serve as support for the athletes bearing coiled scrolls. The piece is crowned by an allegorical bronze, which is partly gilt and partly tinted with a brown patina; on a mass of clouds traversed by the scythe of time appears a winged globe, half covered by a veil and encircled by a serpent. The hours are marked upon it and a genie points to them, while another genie, surrounded by symbols of the sciences and seated on the clouds, is writing in a book he holds. The clock is signed, “Stollewerck, à Paris”.
This evidently belongs to the 17th century and it seems impossible to determine more than this with certainty. It is very difficult, as we said before, to circumscribe different pieces of furniture within exact limits and define the period in which each type should begin and end. In the case of ebony with brass, a mixed and undetermined style, a scrupulous observation of the general form and the workmanship of the metal may furnish indications, which must, however, be accepted with caution. The different styles did not succeed each other suddenly and radically as fashions at that time were not as imperious as now. Therefore, industry could produce kinds, which we should feel inclined to extend over a widely graduated scale, at the same time, and traditions were frequently preserved with the succeeding fashions. Thus, in the time of Louis XV, we still find ebony with bronze chasings in perfect taste.
Pair of armchairs with curved-backs and medallion-adorned frames, 18th century. Gilded wood, silk.
Furniture