Mazarin Desk with Black Background and Gold Decoration - Louis XIV Period - Circa 1680

A so-called "Mazarin" desk with "black background decoration" and "gold decoration" in imitation of Chinese and Japanese lacquers.
The rectangular top features lake landscape motifs enlivened with foliage, birds, and insects.
The front opens with seven drawers framing a central door revealing a niche.
The pedestals are flanked by fretwork crossbars. The base has eight balusters joined by an X-shaped brace.
Small spinning top feet.
H: 80 - W: 121 - D: 63cm.
Louis XIV period, circa 1680–1690

"This desk belongs to a group of furniture that D. Alcouffe highlighted in his work devoted to the artisans working in the Faubourg St. Antoine in the last quarter of the 17th century.
This eight-legged desk is believed to be one of the very first pieces of Parisian lacquer furniture." Although the existence of varnishers imitating oriental lacquers (from China and Japan) in Europe was known from the early 17th century in England and the Netherlands, the practice of this innovative technique did not develop in France until the reign of Louis XIV.
It was not until around 1670 that varnishers seeking to imitate the lacquers of the Rising Sun appeared in Paris's Faubourg St-Antoine. Several of them have been identified by D. Alcouffe, such as Jacques Thérèse, who supplied Molière, Paul Thévenard, and Guillaume Martin, whose surname, through his descendants, would become a reference in varnishing in the 18th century.
This is a rare and precious piece of furniture from this early production, inspired by China and Japan, although its origins cannot be precisely determined due to the interpretations that Parisian varnishers might have made of it. Stylistically datable to the 1680s–1690s, this desk could have been sold by prestigious brands such as Germain Massot's Le Roy et la Chine or Paul Thevenard's Au Cabinet de la Chine. In the 1687 inventory of furniture by cabinetmaker François Yesmelin, established on Grande Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine, we note a "China-style" desk.
Sothesby's B.B.S. A Tribute, Paris, June 30, 2016

Bibliography:
- T. Wolvesperges, French Lacquer Furniture in the 18th Century
- D. Alcouffe, Wood Decorating Craftsmen in the Faubourg St. Antoine Under the Regime of Louis XIV – Dijon 2008
- A. Forray-Carlier and M. Kopplin, The Secrets of French Lacquer. Martin Paris Nail Polish 2014, No. 17, p. 43

Ref: IHQ75BZJ3G