Francois-Antoine MONDON (1694-1770), attributed to - Lot 94

Francois-Antoine MONDON (1694-1770), attributed to Curved chest of drawers in satinwood veneer with contrasting frieze decoration, edged with composite fillets with Greek decoration, in amaranth surrounds. It opens with two drawers, with oak inlay and recessed crosspiece. The front is embellished with a large central cartouche adorned with musical attributes. The straight uprights, curved and pinched for the fronts, rest on cambered legs. Chased and gilded bronze trim: lock escutcheons, pull rings on macaroons, apron, ram-head falls and set lion's paw hooves. Royal red marble top with corbin. Paris. Louis XV period H_ 87 cm, W_ 129 cm D_64 cm Restoration. Slightly missing. Marble reglued. Francois-Antoine MONDON François-Antoine Mondon was awarded his master's degree in 1757, but was not registered until 1770. He then moved the family workshop from rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine to rue de Charenton. Although very little is known about his career, he is best known for his production of furniture in the Transition style, in which our commode fits perfectly. Comparative work : Few pieces of furniture bearing the stamp of François-Antoine Mondon have come down to us. Our commode can be compared with a similar model from the collection of Countess Laszlo Széchényi, née Gladys Vanderbilt, sold by Sotheby's, London, on November 26, 1971, and a second one sold by Christie's New-York, on November 18, 1978, lot 153, veneered in lacquer with Japanese decoration (H. Huth, Lacquer of the West, 1971, fig.239). Finally, a third, slightly different shape, also stamped by François-Antoine Mondon, sold at the Palais d'Orsay in Paris by Laurin, Guilloux, Buffetaud, on December 10, 1979, lot 81, then at Drouot by Castor-Hara, on November 21, 2018, lot 120. The Transitional Louis XV-Louis XVI style Our chest of drawers is typical of the Transition style, the beginnings of which appeared in the late 1750s and symbolically lasted until 1774, with the death of Louis XV and the advent of his grandson Louis XVI. This style illustrates the craze for "neoclassical" taste that was promoted by important cultural figures of the time, such as Charles-Nicolas Cochin. The shape of our chest of drawers still retains that of Louis XV models, with its arched legs and curved front, but the transition to the Louis XVI style takes place through the tension of the curves and the presence of decorative ornaments derived from Antiquity, namely drawer rings with laurel leaf garlands, falls formed by ram heads and claw feet. Sale by appointment