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Descrizione dettagliata lotto
Original in its proportions, form and decoration, this elegant commode by Mathieu Criaerd (1689-1776) is unlike any other known example. Usually associated with the fully developed Louis XV style, characterised by generous curves and abundant gilt-bronze mounts, as exemplified by the Chinese lacquer commode by the same ébéniste offered in the present sale (lot 6), the present commode instead retains lines that still relate closely to the Régence style.
An Unpublished Model by Mathieu Criaerd
A close examination of the present commode strongly suggests that it emerged from Criaerd’s workshop shortly after he received his maîtrise in 1738. Its overall form provides the first indication. The façade is shaped en arbalète, a silhouette fashionable during the Régence period and largely abandoned by cabinet-makers during the subsequent reign. Furthermore, the rear legs are set wider apart than the front ones, giving the commode a trapezoidal appearance, another feature more commonly associated with the Régence period and the early years of Louis XV's reign. Charles Cressent (1685-1768) employed this configuration extensively, notably in his celebrated commodes à espagnolettes and commodes à palmes produced during the 1730s and early 1740s.
The ornament likewise suggests an early date within Criaerd’s œuvre. The escutcheon, whose design is perfectly symmetrical, together with the floral corner mounts and the sabots, all reflect a decorative vocabulary inherited from the Régence. A closely related Régence commode dating to circa 1730, comparable both in outline and in the placement of its mounts, was sold at Christie’s London, 4 July 1996, lot 370.
Finally, the choice of lacquer decoration further reinforces this sense of balanced composition characteristic of the Régence period. Each door on the façade is decorated with an identical flowering vase motif, responding perfectly to one another. This symmetrical arrangement, so closely associated with Régence taste, suggests that Mathieu Criaerd produced the present commode at a relatively early stage of his career. Although entirely different in style from the celebrated lacquer commode supplied in 1737 by BVRB for Queen Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768) and now preserved in the Musée du Louvre (inv. OA 11193), the present piece almost certainly ranks among the earliest commodes entirely sheathed in lacquer panels and appears to be previously unrecorded.
A Rare Example Decorated with Japanese Lacquer Panels Depicting Flowering Vases
The commode is veneered with four black-ground lacquer panels executed by Japanese lacquer artisans, linked together by European varnish of a matching tone. From the seventeenth century onwards, France imported Japanese lacquer through Dutch commercial networks, as Louis XIV’s kingdom had not yet established an East India company operating under the French flag.
The considerable collection of lacquer cabinets and coffers assembled by Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661), comprising some sixty examples, attests to this trade before the 1660s. The inventory drawn up following his death in 1661 by the expert Pierre Lescot describes one panel, under no. 790, as depicting “a sort of square table upon which stands a large vase from which emerge branches of leaves and flowers [...]”. This description inevitably recalls the decoration found on the doors of the present commode.
Like the majority of lacquer panels incorporated into Parisian furniture, those on the present piece were originally taken from Japanese cabinets or coffers and subsequently reused by Parisian ébénistes. Since European trade with Japan declined significantly towards the end of the seventeenth century, it is highly probable that these lacquer panels themselves date from the seventeenth century.
Among Japanese lacquers, which were regarded by contemporary collectors as the finest, rarest and most expensive, the landscape scenes depicting mountains, lakes and villages found on the sides of the present commode are among the most common decorative subjects. Still-life compositions, by contrast, are considerably rarer.
A striking expression of the purity, balance and precision characteristic of Japanese art, the present flowering vase, rendered in gold lacquer against a black ground, is brilliantly illuminated and animated at its summit by an iris blossom with vivid red petals. Although exceedingly rare, two identical panels appear on a pair of corner cupboards dating to circa 1745, slightly later than the present commode, and stamped by Bernard van Risenburgh (BVRB), one of the greatest specialists in lacquer furniture. These corner cupboards also formed part of the Patiño collections. According to Thibaut Wolvesperges, the panels originally constituted the sides of a Japanese cabinet dating from the second half of the seventeenth century (op. cit., p. 263).
Such an appealing motif naturally inspired Parisian vernisseurs, who adapted it for use on other pieces of furniture. The celebrated lacquer commode mentioned above, supplied by the marchand-mercier Hébert to the Château de Fontainebleau for the cabinet de retraite of Queen Marie Leszczynska, provides a notable example. Its sides are each decorated with a flowering vase on a black ground executed in vernis parisien.
Highly decorative in character, Japanese lacquer panels representing flowering vases continued to adorn furniture of exceptional quality throughout the eighteenth century. One may cite the pair of low cabinets stamped by Nicolas Petit and dating from circa 1770, this time decorated with flowering vases fitted with handles (Sotheby’s Monaco, 19-20 June 1992, lot 696).
Original in its proportions, form and decoration, this elegant commode by Mathieu Criaerd (1689-1776) is unlike any other known example. Usually associated with the fully developed Louis XV style, characterised by generous curves and abundant gilt-bronze mounts, as exemplified by the Chinese lacquer commode by the same ébéniste offered in the present sale (lot 6), the present commode instead retains lines that still relate closely to the Régence style.
An Unpublished Model by Mathieu Criaerd
A close examination of the present commode strongly suggests that it emerged from Criaerd’s workshop shortly after he received his maîtrise in 1738. Its overall form provides the first indication. The façade is shaped en arbalète, a silhouette fashionable during the Régence period and largely abandoned by cabinet-makers during the subsequent reign. Furthermore, the rear legs are set wider apart than the front ones, giving the commode a trapezoidal appearance, another feature more commonly associated with the Régence period and the early years of Louis XV's reign. Charles Cressent (1685-1768) employed this configuration extensively, notably in his celebrated commodes à espagnolettes and commodes à palmes produced during the 1730s and early 1740s.
The ornament likewise suggests an early date within Criaerd’s œuvre. The escutcheon, whose design is perfectly symmetrical, together with the floral corner mounts and the sabots, all reflect a decorative vocabulary inherited from the Régence. A closely related Régence commode dating to circa 1730, comparable both in outline and in the placement of its mounts, was sold at Christie’s London, 4 July 1996, lot 370.
Finally, the choice of lacquer decoration further reinforces this sense of balanced composition characteristic of the Régence period. Each door on the façade is decorated with an identical flowering vase motif, responding perfectly to one another. This symmetrical arrangement, so closely associated with Régence taste, suggests that Mathieu Criaerd produced the present commode at a relatively early stage of his career. Although entirely different in style from the celebrated lacquer commode supplied in 1737 by BVRB for Queen Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768) and now preserved in the Musée du Louvre (inv. OA 11193), the present piece almost certainly ranks among the earliest commodes entirely sheathed in lacquer panels and appears to be previously unrecorded.
A Rare Example Decorated with Japanese Lacquer Panels Depicting Flowering Vases
The commode is veneered with four black-ground lacquer panels executed by Japanese lacquer artisans, linked together by European varnish of a matching tone. From the seventeenth century onwards, France imported Japanese lacquer through Dutch commercial networks, as Louis XIV’s kingdom had not yet established an East India company operating under the French flag.
The considerable collection of lacquer cabinets and coffers assembled by Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661), comprising some sixty examples, attests to this trade before the 1660s. The inventory drawn up following his death in 1661 by the expert Pierre Lescot describes one panel, under no. 790, as depicting “a sort of square table upon which stands a large vase from which emerge branches of leaves and flowers [...]”. This description inevitably recalls the decoration found on the doors of the present commode.
Like the majority of lacquer panels incorporated into Parisian furniture, those on the present piece were originally taken from Japanese cabinets or coffers and subsequently reused by Parisian ébénistes. Since European trade with Japan declined significantly towards the end of the seventeenth century, it is highly probable that these lacquer panels themselves date from the seventeenth century.
Among Japanese lacquers, which were regarded by contemporary collectors as the finest, rarest and most expensive, the landscape scenes depicting mountains, lakes and villages found on the sides of the present commode are among the most common decorative subjects. Still-life compositions, by contrast, are considerably rarer.
A striking expression of the purity, balance and precision characteristic of Japanese art, the present flowering vase, rendered in gold lacquer against a black ground, is brilliantly illuminated and animated at its summit by an iris blossom with vivid red petals. Although exceedingly rare, two identical panels appear on a pair of corner cupboards dating to circa 1745, slightly later than the present commode, and stamped by Bernard van Risenburgh (BVRB), one of the greatest specialists in lacquer furniture. These corner cupboards also formed part of the Patiño collections. According to Thibaut Wolvesperges, the panels originally constituted the sides of a Japanese cabinet dating from the second half of the seventeenth century (op. cit., p. 263).
Such an appealing motif naturally inspired Parisian vernisseurs, who adapted it for use on other pieces of furniture. The celebrated lacquer commode mentioned above, supplied by the marchand-mercier Hébert to the Château de Fontainebleau for the cabinet de retraite of Queen Marie Leszczynska, provides a notable example. Its sides are each decorated with a flowering vase on a black ground executed in vernis parisien.
Highly decorative in character, Japanese lacquer panels representing flowering vases continued to adorn furniture of exceptional quality throughout the eighteenth century. One may cite the pair of low cabinets stamped by Nicolas Petit and dating from circa 1770, this time decorated with flowering vases fitted with handles (Sotheby’s Monaco, 19-20 June 1992, lot 696).
Originale par sa taille autant que par sa forme et par son décor, cette élégante commode de Mathieu Criaerd (1689-1776) ne ressemble à aucune autre. Habituellement très Louis XV, aux formes généreuses et aux montures abondantes comme l’exemplaire en laque de Chine du même ébéniste présenté dans cette vente (lot 6), notre commode est ici empreinte de lignes qui s’apparentent encore au style Régence.
Un exemplaire inédit de Mathieu Criaerd
À l’observation de notre commode, tout laisse penser qu’elle est sortie des ateliers de l’ébéniste très tôt après l’obtention de sa maîtrise en 1738. Attachons-nous premièrement à sa forme générale. La façade est dite en arbalète, une silhouette à la mode à l’époque Régence et que les ébénistes abandonnent à la période suivante. En outre, les pieds postérieurs plus écartés que les pieds antérieurs donnent à la commode l’apparence d’un trapèze, forme également plus associée à l’époque Régence et au début de l’époque Louis XV. Charles Cressent (1685-1768) utilise en effet beaucoup ce gabarit notamment pour ses commodes dites à espagnolettes ou à palmes, réalisées dans les années 1730 et au début des années 1740. À côté de la forme, le décor suggère aussi une datation précoce du meuble dans la production de l’ébéniste. L’entrée de serrure au dessin parfaitement symétrique, ainsi que celui des chutes de fleurs aux angles des montants de la façade et celui des sabots illustrent cette tendance. Citons un exemplaire d’époque Régence vers 1730, proche de notre commode tant par la forme que par le positionnement des bronzes, vendu chez Christie’s à Londres (4 juillet 1996, lot 370). Enfin, le choix des motifs des laques appuie encore cette volonté d’équilibre général du meuble propre à la Régence. La façade présente sur chacune des portes un dessin identique de vase à fleurs et feuilles qui se répondent parfaitement. Cette symétrie dans le décor attaché à l’époque Régence nous permet de penser que Mathieu Criaerd réalisa cette commode très tôt. Bien que d’un style différent de celle livrée en 1737 pour la reine Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768) par BVRB et conservée aujourd’hui au musée du Louvre (Inv. OA 11193), notre commode compte très certainement parmi les premiers modèles recouverts entièrement de panneaux de laque, et par conséquent inédite.
Un exemplaire rare à décors de vases fleuris en laque du Japon
Notre commode est recouverte de quatre panneaux de laque à fond noir réalisés par des laqueurs japonais, reliés entre eux par du vernis européen de même ton. C’est à partir du XVIIe siècle que la France importe des laques provenant du Japon via la Hollande – le royaume de Louis XIV n’a pas encore de compagnie orientale commerçant sous son pavillon. L’importante collection de coffres et cabinets en laque du Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661) – elle en compte une soixantaine – atteste ce commerce avant les années 1660, et l’inventaire après décès dressé en 1661 par l’expert Pierre Lescot la décrit précisément. Sous le numéro 790, le décor d’un panneau est dépeint comme « une espèce de table carrée sur laquelle est un grand vase duquel sortent des branches de feuilles et de fleurs […] ». Ce panneau n’est évidemment pas sans évoquer le décor des portes de la façade de notre commode. Ainsi, et comme la majorité des laques, ces panneaux proviennent de coffres ou de cabinets réemployés par les ébénistes parisiens. Le commerce européen avec le Japon diminuant fortement à la fin du XVIIe siècle, il est fort probable que les panneaux de cette commode datent du XVIIe siècle.
Si l’on considère exclusivement les laques du Japon - considérés par les amateurs comme les plus beaux, les plus rares et les plus onéreux - les motifs de paysages (montagnes, lacs, villages) présents sur les côtés de notre commode sont les plus courants et les plus représentés, les natures mortes étant en revanche beaucoup plus rares. Symptomatique de la pureté, de l’équilibre et de la précision du dessin propre à l’art japonais, notre vase fleuri en camaïeu or sur fond noir est intensément illuminé et réveillé au sommet par une fleur d’iris aux pétales rouges éclatants. Bien que rarissime, nous retrouvons deux panneaux au motif identique sur une paire d’encoignures datée vers 1745 - légèrement plus tardive que notre commode - et estampillée de l’un des plus grands maîtres spécialisés dans les meubles en laques, Bernard van Risenburgh (BVRB). Ces encoignures proviennent elles aussi des collections de la famille Patiño. Selon Thibaut Wolvesperges, ces panneaux composaient à l’origine les faces d’un cabinet japonais de la seconde moitié du XVIIe siècle (op. cit. p. 263). Motif séduisant, les vernisseurs parisiens s’inspirent de ce vase fleuri qu’ils utilisent sur d’autres meubles. Prenons, pour illustrer ce propos, l’exemple de la célèbre commode en laque citée plus haut, livrée par le marchand-mercier Hébert au château de Fontainebleau pour le cabinet de retraite de la reine Marie Leszczynska. Les côtés sont ornés chacun d’un vase fleuri sur fond noir en vernis parisien. Motifs très décoratifs, les panneaux de laque du Japon représentant un vase fleuri seront utilisés pour quelques meubles de très grande qualité jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Citons la paire de bas d’armoires estampillée de Nicolas Petit vers 1770 ornée de vases fleuris à anses cette fois-ci (Sotheby’s Monaco, 19-20 juin 1992, lot 696).
An Unpublished Model by Mathieu Criaerd
A close examination of the present commode strongly suggests that it emerged from Criaerd’s workshop shortly after he received his maîtrise in 1738. Its overall form provides the first indication. The façade is shaped en arbalète, a silhouette fashionable during the Régence period and largely abandoned by cabinet-makers during the subsequent reign. Furthermore, the rear legs are set wider apart than the front ones, giving the commode a trapezoidal appearance, another feature more commonly associated with the Régence period and the early years of Louis XV's reign. Charles Cressent (1685-1768) employed this configuration extensively, notably in his celebrated commodes à espagnolettes and commodes à palmes produced during the 1730s and early 1740s.
The ornament likewise suggests an early date within Criaerd’s œuvre. The escutcheon, whose design is perfectly symmetrical, together with the floral corner mounts and the sabots, all reflect a decorative vocabulary inherited from the Régence. A closely related Régence commode dating to circa 1730, comparable both in outline and in the placement of its mounts, was sold at Christie’s London, 4 July 1996, lot 370.
Finally, the choice of lacquer decoration further reinforces this sense of balanced composition characteristic of the Régence period. Each door on the façade is decorated with an identical flowering vase motif, responding perfectly to one another. This symmetrical arrangement, so closely associated with Régence taste, suggests that Mathieu Criaerd produced the present commode at a relatively early stage of his career. Although entirely different in style from the celebrated lacquer commode supplied in 1737 by BVRB for Queen Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768) and now preserved in the Musée du Louvre (inv. OA 11193), the present piece almost certainly ranks among the earliest commodes entirely sheathed in lacquer panels and appears to be previously unrecorded.
A Rare Example Decorated with Japanese Lacquer Panels Depicting Flowering Vases
The commode is veneered with four black-ground lacquer panels executed by Japanese lacquer artisans, linked together by European varnish of a matching tone. From the seventeenth century onwards, France imported Japanese lacquer through Dutch commercial networks, as Louis XIV’s kingdom had not yet established an East India company operating under the French flag.
The considerable collection of lacquer cabinets and coffers assembled by Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661), comprising some sixty examples, attests to this trade before the 1660s. The inventory drawn up following his death in 1661 by the expert Pierre Lescot describes one panel, under no. 790, as depicting “a sort of square table upon which stands a large vase from which emerge branches of leaves and flowers [...]”. This description inevitably recalls the decoration found on the doors of the present commode.
Like the majority of lacquer panels incorporated into Parisian furniture, those on the present piece were originally taken from Japanese cabinets or coffers and subsequently reused by Parisian ébénistes. Since European trade with Japan declined significantly towards the end of the seventeenth century, it is highly probable that these lacquer panels themselves date from the seventeenth century.
Among Japanese lacquers, which were regarded by contemporary collectors as the finest, rarest and most expensive, the landscape scenes depicting mountains, lakes and villages found on the sides of the present commode are among the most common decorative subjects. Still-life compositions, by contrast, are considerably rarer.
A striking expression of the purity, balance and precision characteristic of Japanese art, the present flowering vase, rendered in gold lacquer against a black ground, is brilliantly illuminated and animated at its summit by an iris blossom with vivid red petals. Although exceedingly rare, two identical panels appear on a pair of corner cupboards dating to circa 1745, slightly later than the present commode, and stamped by Bernard van Risenburgh (BVRB), one of the greatest specialists in lacquer furniture. These corner cupboards also formed part of the Patiño collections. According to Thibaut Wolvesperges, the panels originally constituted the sides of a Japanese cabinet dating from the second half of the seventeenth century (op. cit., p. 263).
Such an appealing motif naturally inspired Parisian vernisseurs, who adapted it for use on other pieces of furniture. The celebrated lacquer commode mentioned above, supplied by the marchand-mercier Hébert to the Château de Fontainebleau for the cabinet de retraite of Queen Marie Leszczynska, provides a notable example. Its sides are each decorated with a flowering vase on a black ground executed in vernis parisien.
Highly decorative in character, Japanese lacquer panels representing flowering vases continued to adorn furniture of exceptional quality throughout the eighteenth century. One may cite the pair of low cabinets stamped by Nicolas Petit and dating from circa 1770, this time decorated with flowering vases fitted with handles (Sotheby’s Monaco, 19-20 June 1992, lot 696).
Original in its proportions, form and decoration, this elegant commode by Mathieu Criaerd (1689-1776) is unlike any other known example. Usually associated with the fully developed Louis XV style, characterised by generous curves and abundant gilt-bronze mounts, as exemplified by the Chinese lacquer commode by the same ébéniste offered in the present sale (lot 6), the present commode instead retains lines that still relate closely to the Régence style.
An Unpublished Model by Mathieu Criaerd
A close examination of the present commode strongly suggests that it emerged from Criaerd’s workshop shortly after he received his maîtrise in 1738. Its overall form provides the first indication. The façade is shaped en arbalète, a silhouette fashionable during the Régence period and largely abandoned by cabinet-makers during the subsequent reign. Furthermore, the rear legs are set wider apart than the front ones, giving the commode a trapezoidal appearance, another feature more commonly associated with the Régence period and the early years of Louis XV's reign. Charles Cressent (1685-1768) employed this configuration extensively, notably in his celebrated commodes à espagnolettes and commodes à palmes produced during the 1730s and early 1740s.
The ornament likewise suggests an early date within Criaerd’s œuvre. The escutcheon, whose design is perfectly symmetrical, together with the floral corner mounts and the sabots, all reflect a decorative vocabulary inherited from the Régence. A closely related Régence commode dating to circa 1730, comparable both in outline and in the placement of its mounts, was sold at Christie’s London, 4 July 1996, lot 370.
Finally, the choice of lacquer decoration further reinforces this sense of balanced composition characteristic of the Régence period. Each door on the façade is decorated with an identical flowering vase motif, responding perfectly to one another. This symmetrical arrangement, so closely associated with Régence taste, suggests that Mathieu Criaerd produced the present commode at a relatively early stage of his career. Although entirely different in style from the celebrated lacquer commode supplied in 1737 by BVRB for Queen Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768) and now preserved in the Musée du Louvre (inv. OA 11193), the present piece almost certainly ranks among the earliest commodes entirely sheathed in lacquer panels and appears to be previously unrecorded.
A Rare Example Decorated with Japanese Lacquer Panels Depicting Flowering Vases
The commode is veneered with four black-ground lacquer panels executed by Japanese lacquer artisans, linked together by European varnish of a matching tone. From the seventeenth century onwards, France imported Japanese lacquer through Dutch commercial networks, as Louis XIV’s kingdom had not yet established an East India company operating under the French flag.
The considerable collection of lacquer cabinets and coffers assembled by Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661), comprising some sixty examples, attests to this trade before the 1660s. The inventory drawn up following his death in 1661 by the expert Pierre Lescot describes one panel, under no. 790, as depicting “a sort of square table upon which stands a large vase from which emerge branches of leaves and flowers [...]”. This description inevitably recalls the decoration found on the doors of the present commode.
Like the majority of lacquer panels incorporated into Parisian furniture, those on the present piece were originally taken from Japanese cabinets or coffers and subsequently reused by Parisian ébénistes. Since European trade with Japan declined significantly towards the end of the seventeenth century, it is highly probable that these lacquer panels themselves date from the seventeenth century.
Among Japanese lacquers, which were regarded by contemporary collectors as the finest, rarest and most expensive, the landscape scenes depicting mountains, lakes and villages found on the sides of the present commode are among the most common decorative subjects. Still-life compositions, by contrast, are considerably rarer.
A striking expression of the purity, balance and precision characteristic of Japanese art, the present flowering vase, rendered in gold lacquer against a black ground, is brilliantly illuminated and animated at its summit by an iris blossom with vivid red petals. Although exceedingly rare, two identical panels appear on a pair of corner cupboards dating to circa 1745, slightly later than the present commode, and stamped by Bernard van Risenburgh (BVRB), one of the greatest specialists in lacquer furniture. These corner cupboards also formed part of the Patiño collections. According to Thibaut Wolvesperges, the panels originally constituted the sides of a Japanese cabinet dating from the second half of the seventeenth century (op. cit., p. 263).
Such an appealing motif naturally inspired Parisian vernisseurs, who adapted it for use on other pieces of furniture. The celebrated lacquer commode mentioned above, supplied by the marchand-mercier Hébert to the Château de Fontainebleau for the cabinet de retraite of Queen Marie Leszczynska, provides a notable example. Its sides are each decorated with a flowering vase on a black ground executed in vernis parisien.
Highly decorative in character, Japanese lacquer panels representing flowering vases continued to adorn furniture of exceptional quality throughout the eighteenth century. One may cite the pair of low cabinets stamped by Nicolas Petit and dating from circa 1770, this time decorated with flowering vases fitted with handles (Sotheby’s Monaco, 19-20 June 1992, lot 696).
Originale par sa taille autant que par sa forme et par son décor, cette élégante commode de Mathieu Criaerd (1689-1776) ne ressemble à aucune autre. Habituellement très Louis XV, aux formes généreuses et aux montures abondantes comme l’exemplaire en laque de Chine du même ébéniste présenté dans cette vente (lot 6), notre commode est ici empreinte de lignes qui s’apparentent encore au style Régence.
Un exemplaire inédit de Mathieu Criaerd
À l’observation de notre commode, tout laisse penser qu’elle est sortie des ateliers de l’ébéniste très tôt après l’obtention de sa maîtrise en 1738. Attachons-nous premièrement à sa forme générale. La façade est dite en arbalète, une silhouette à la mode à l’époque Régence et que les ébénistes abandonnent à la période suivante. En outre, les pieds postérieurs plus écartés que les pieds antérieurs donnent à la commode l’apparence d’un trapèze, forme également plus associée à l’époque Régence et au début de l’époque Louis XV. Charles Cressent (1685-1768) utilise en effet beaucoup ce gabarit notamment pour ses commodes dites à espagnolettes ou à palmes, réalisées dans les années 1730 et au début des années 1740. À côté de la forme, le décor suggère aussi une datation précoce du meuble dans la production de l’ébéniste. L’entrée de serrure au dessin parfaitement symétrique, ainsi que celui des chutes de fleurs aux angles des montants de la façade et celui des sabots illustrent cette tendance. Citons un exemplaire d’époque Régence vers 1730, proche de notre commode tant par la forme que par le positionnement des bronzes, vendu chez Christie’s à Londres (4 juillet 1996, lot 370). Enfin, le choix des motifs des laques appuie encore cette volonté d’équilibre général du meuble propre à la Régence. La façade présente sur chacune des portes un dessin identique de vase à fleurs et feuilles qui se répondent parfaitement. Cette symétrie dans le décor attaché à l’époque Régence nous permet de penser que Mathieu Criaerd réalisa cette commode très tôt. Bien que d’un style différent de celle livrée en 1737 pour la reine Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768) par BVRB et conservée aujourd’hui au musée du Louvre (Inv. OA 11193), notre commode compte très certainement parmi les premiers modèles recouverts entièrement de panneaux de laque, et par conséquent inédite.
Un exemplaire rare à décors de vases fleuris en laque du Japon
Notre commode est recouverte de quatre panneaux de laque à fond noir réalisés par des laqueurs japonais, reliés entre eux par du vernis européen de même ton. C’est à partir du XVIIe siècle que la France importe des laques provenant du Japon via la Hollande – le royaume de Louis XIV n’a pas encore de compagnie orientale commerçant sous son pavillon. L’importante collection de coffres et cabinets en laque du Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661) – elle en compte une soixantaine – atteste ce commerce avant les années 1660, et l’inventaire après décès dressé en 1661 par l’expert Pierre Lescot la décrit précisément. Sous le numéro 790, le décor d’un panneau est dépeint comme « une espèce de table carrée sur laquelle est un grand vase duquel sortent des branches de feuilles et de fleurs […] ». Ce panneau n’est évidemment pas sans évoquer le décor des portes de la façade de notre commode. Ainsi, et comme la majorité des laques, ces panneaux proviennent de coffres ou de cabinets réemployés par les ébénistes parisiens. Le commerce européen avec le Japon diminuant fortement à la fin du XVIIe siècle, il est fort probable que les panneaux de cette commode datent du XVIIe siècle.
Si l’on considère exclusivement les laques du Japon - considérés par les amateurs comme les plus beaux, les plus rares et les plus onéreux - les motifs de paysages (montagnes, lacs, villages) présents sur les côtés de notre commode sont les plus courants et les plus représentés, les natures mortes étant en revanche beaucoup plus rares. Symptomatique de la pureté, de l’équilibre et de la précision du dessin propre à l’art japonais, notre vase fleuri en camaïeu or sur fond noir est intensément illuminé et réveillé au sommet par une fleur d’iris aux pétales rouges éclatants. Bien que rarissime, nous retrouvons deux panneaux au motif identique sur une paire d’encoignures datée vers 1745 - légèrement plus tardive que notre commode - et estampillée de l’un des plus grands maîtres spécialisés dans les meubles en laques, Bernard van Risenburgh (BVRB). Ces encoignures proviennent elles aussi des collections de la famille Patiño. Selon Thibaut Wolvesperges, ces panneaux composaient à l’origine les faces d’un cabinet japonais de la seconde moitié du XVIIe siècle (op. cit. p. 263). Motif séduisant, les vernisseurs parisiens s’inspirent de ce vase fleuri qu’ils utilisent sur d’autres meubles. Prenons, pour illustrer ce propos, l’exemple de la célèbre commode en laque citée plus haut, livrée par le marchand-mercier Hébert au château de Fontainebleau pour le cabinet de retraite de la reine Marie Leszczynska. Les côtés sont ornés chacun d’un vase fleuri sur fond noir en vernis parisien. Motifs très décoratifs, les panneaux de laque du Japon représentant un vase fleuri seront utilisés pour quelques meubles de très grande qualité jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Citons la paire de bas d’armoires estampillée de Nicolas Petit vers 1770 ornée de vases fleuris à anses cette fois-ci (Sotheby’s Monaco, 19-20 juin 1992, lot 696).