Footnotes

• Although the mark BF appears occasionally on the reverse of gilt bronze mounts from the late 19th century (e.g. Koller Zurich, 31 March 2011, lot 1327), the identity of this maker is as yet unknown. The quality of the casting and gilding of the mounts on the present bureau plat, however, indicate the work of an accomplished professional, who undoubtedly possessed his own models.
  
  This bureau plat is similar to several models produced by André Charles Boulle (1642-1732), without being an exact copy of any of them: for example, the Bureau du président de Machault, (sold Sotheby's New York, 20 May 1994, lot 80), or the Bureau des princes de Condé (Château de Versailles, inv. no. V1515). It shares their general form, including the low-hanging bail handle on the center drawer and the scrolling elements to the knees of the legs with caryatid mounts, but the present bureau has a lighter, more eighteenth-century aspect, with higher legs and more graceful proportions.
  
  Literature:
  Jean-Nérée Ronfort, André Charles Boulle, un nouveau style pour l'Europe, Somogy, 2009, pp. 83; 236-237

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Category: Furniture / European Furniture and Works of Art

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