A Louis XVI Gilt Bronze Mounted Mahogany Console Desserte Height 33 1/2 x width 61 5/16 x depth 22 inches.

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Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts

By Hindman

Apr 29, 2015 - Apr 30, 2015

Set Reminder 2015-04-29 11:00:00 2015-04-30 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/hindman-auctions/fine-furniture-and-decorative-arts-571
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• Lot Description
  A Louis XVI Gilt Bronze Mounted Mahogany Console Desserte
  attributed to bernard molitor (1755-1833), late 18th century
  having a later marble top over a frieze drawer and a conforming undertier with fluted tapering supports and a mirrored back, raised on toupie feet.
  Height 33 1/2 x width 61 5/16 x depth 22 inches.
  Estimate $ 30,000-50,000
  
  Property from the Toledo Museum of Art, sold for the benefit of the Art Acquisition Fund
  
  Provenance:
  Probably Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812-1870) to his nephew
  Baron Alphonse de Rothschild to his wife, Baroness Clarice de Rothschild
  Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, NY, 1967
  
  This console is attributed to Bernard Molitor based on an assessment by Theodore Dell, an "art advisor and historian noted for his expertise in eighteenth-century French furniture, porcelain and decorative arts."
  
  It was first attributed to Adam Weisweiler when it was in the possession of Rosenberg & Stiebel, from whom the museum purchased it using funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Trust in memory of her father, Maurice A. Scott. A memorandum to the documentary file from 1967, shortly after the console was acquired, suggests that the registrar, Mrs. Bentley, believed it could be attributed to Jean-Henri Riesener. She compared the console to a Riesener model up for auction and noted that "while the character and basic design differ, much of the decorative vocabulary resembles our piece." This attribution does not appear to have been pursued further.
  
  Rosenberg & Stiebel purchased the console from the estate of Baroness Clarice de Rothschild in 1967. It is believed to have been restituted to the Baroness sometime after 1949, following its confiscation from her husband, Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, when the Nazis invaded Austria in 1938. An inventory of the Rothschild collection taken in 1938 describes the console as "Spiegeltisch mit eingezogenen Seiten und zwei rosacrème marmorplatten, Rankenbeschläge" (Mirror table with recessed sides and two pink and cream marble slabs, vine fittings). Alphonse de Rothschild is assumed to have inherited the console from his uncle, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild.
  
  The console may be one of a pair, the other belonging to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession number 26.220.1).
  
  The marble top probably not original and with two or more broken sections and some losses repaired with plaster. Edges of marble with some roughness. Mounts below marble top with slightly uneven gold patina, darker in areas. Mounts flaking drawer slightly loose; drawer interior with alteration/reinforcement and glue residue. Lower tier's marble also not original and with a plaster-filled break as well as plaster fillings at the back corners (marble is not shaped/cut to perfectly fit the lower tier). Mirror showing signs of age but also not original; a few cloudy spots. Lower front mount in two parts, suggesting possible repair. Back right leg's mounts are loose but stable.
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• Buyer's Premium

  • Hammer Price	Premium (%)
    $0	28.00
    $400,001	23.00
    $4,000,001	15.00