An Unusual and Exceptional Mid 19th Century Napoleon III Gilt Bronze Mounted Ebony, Pietra Dura and Tortoiseshell Boulle Style Marquetry Cabinet By Georges Monbro
Item # CC1263
An Unusual and Exceptional Mid 19th Century Napoleon III Gilt Bronze Mounted Ebony, Pietra Dura and Tortoiseshell Boulle Style Marquetry Cabinet
By Georges Monbro
The double door cupboard centered with pietra dura flowers below a medallion of Louis XIV and above a bronze mask of Minerva and lion paws. The stand has a single long drawer, the stretcher along the base with an urn standing on bronze spiral feet.
Stamped MONBRO AINE twice on the underneath of the carcass.
In 1838 Georges-Alphonse Monbro (d. 1884), known as 'Monbro fils aîné', assumed control of the atelier established by his father, Georges-Marie-Paul-Vital-Bonifacio Monbro. He was known for high-quality meubles de luxe executed in the common revival styles of the time, particularly those in the manner of André-Charles Boulle. Monbro received several royal commissions and exhibited at the 1855 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Based on a very classic and sober Royal cabinet by André-Charles Boulle made circa 1700 the present lot with its Napoléon III pastiche attracted royals from Russia. Olga Nikolaievna, Grand Duchess of Russia and Queen of Württemberd, second daughter of Tzar Nicolas I, owned a pair at her Stuttgart's Villa Berg.
This exotic Louis XIV style cabinet displays marble bas-relief plaques of Florentine pietra commessa, indeed deriving from cabinets by André-Charles Boulle which King Louis-Philippe had adapted in 1839 (see D. Alcouffe et al., Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Paris, 1993, p. 60-68). Georges-Alphonse-Bonifacio Monbro, who had taken control of the family's Parisian firm in 1838, exhibited similar cabinets 'de Genre Boulle' at the Paris 1855 Exhibition. At this time, a pair of related cabinets, incorporating faïence plaques after Raphael, were acquired by John Bowers (d. 1885) for his house, the Château Du Barry, Louveciennes.
Details:
Height – 64.5 inches / 164cm
Width – 33 inches / 84cm
Depth – 18.5 inches / 47cm
Maker – Georges-Alphonse-Bonifacio Monbro