Footnotes

Related Literature
Christophe Huchet de Quénetain, Pierre Garnier, Paris, 2003, p.33.

Pierre Garnier (circa 1725-1806), maître ébéniste in 1742.
Bon Durand, maître ébéniste in 1761.

Pierre Garnier
The son of the Parisian ébéniste François Garnier, Pierre, who in 1742 at the age of 16 became maître-ébéniste, went on to play an important role in the early development of neo-classical furniture alongside the famous German-born Jean-François Oeben and Joseph Baumhauer.

As a result of his early and highly-publicised collaboration with De Wailly and through Madame Geoffrin's recommendation, Garnier caught the attention of one of the most influential protagonists of the new style; the Marquis de Marigny, brother to Madame de Pompadour and the directeur des Bâtiments. A remarkable series of letters from Marigny to his cabinet-maker testify that he held Garnier in high esteem and entrusted him with a variety of commissions (S. Eriksen, 'Some letters from the Marquis de Marigny to his cabinet-maker Pierre Garnier', in Journal of Furniture History, no.8, 1972, pp. 78-85). Garnier was himself active as a designer as well as a cabinet maker, which explains the idiosyncratic nature of many of his most ambitious productions as well as the introduction of his 'goût grec' manner which soon became extremely popular.

Collaboration with Bon Durand
It appears that Pierre Garnier has been collaborating with Bon Durand for at least nine years. A large commission for the Maréchal de Contades, delivered to his château de Montgeoffroy (Maine-et-Loire) circa 1771-2 which still stands in situ, comprises not only the important pieces stamped both 'P.GARNIER' and 'B.DURAND', but also a quantity of day-to-day furniture supplied for the private apartments. Such was the scope of the project that Garnier asked for help from other ébénistes, in particular Bon Durand, in order to honour the commission as well as his other work. According to de Quénetain, op.cit. p.33, other notorious pieces of furniture feature simultaneously the estampille of Bon Durand next to that of Pierre Garnier, among which: a pair of commodes of King Charles XIII of Sweden; a bureau formerly in the Stravos S. Niarchos Collection; and a Louis XVI cartonnier which was exhibited in the 1955 Parisian exhibition on 'Grands Ebénistes', lot 113. Furthermore, an inventory relating Bon Durand's activities, dated 14 July 1777 mentions: 'un petit livre... que ledit Durand déclare servir à écrire les marchandises qu'ils fournies au sieur Garnier et les acomptes qu'il a reçu' testifies an intense collaboration between the two ébénistes.