A German brass, pewter and tortoiseshell première partie marquetry ebony and kingwood bureau, circa 1710, in the manner of Johann Puchwiser

Christie’s, Paris, 4 May 2016, lot 117 (sold 23 750 €)

This type of table with a folding top appears as early as 1688 in the deliveries of the Garde-Meuble. It was then a new, ingenious, and functional form, characterized by a folding top that could be extended thanks to two movable supports. Once deployed, the reverse of the top transformed into a writing surface, while several compartments became accessible, giving the piece a specialized use related to currency operations or writing. Bureaux "de changeur" are today extremely rare, and examples executed in Boulle marquetry are even rarer. A related model is illustrated by G. Janneau in Le Meuble d’ébénisterie (Paris, 1993, pp. 16–17, no. 15), while another example is preserved at the Musée Carnavalet in Paris (inv. MB 295).

Structurally, the evolution of this type of furniture owes much to Pierre Gole, who played a decisive role in the development of the writing desk and movable-top furniture. As early as 1669, he produced a bureau for the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi, as demonstrated by L. Scheurleer (Pierre Gole, ébéniste de Louis XIV, 2005, p. 184). Another bureau typical of his work is preserved in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch at Boughton House. These creations form the foundation upon which, a few decades later, a highly original Germanic production in Boulle marquetry would develop.

Although long considered an exclusively French specialty, the Boulle technique spread rapidly to the Low Countries and the German states, where it reached a remarkable level of quality and inventiveness, particularly in Vienna and Munich. It is in this context that Johann Puchwiser (1680–1744), originally from Bohemia and probably trained in Vienna, arrived in Munich in 1701. The following year, he offered his services to Elector Max Emmanuel II, claiming to be capable of producing works more beautiful and more precious than those made abroad, or even in the Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire. He presented himself as Galanterie und Clopturkistler, asserting mastery of metal and tortoiseshell in the most luxurious French taste.

Thanks to Augsburg, German-speaking cabinetmakers had access to a vast graphic repertoire, enriched by the engravings of Jean Bérain and the “à la goût moderne” designs of Paul Decker, Jonas Drentwett, and Johann Jakob Biller, rich in variations of Laub- und Bandlwerk. Puchwiser absorbed these influences and developed a personal style, combining Germanic figures, grotesques, and ornaments inspired by Bérain. He favoured a characteristic polychrome effect, combining a deep red ground for tortoiseshell, a vivid blue ground for horn, and a pronounced use of pewter and brass. This palette, inherited from Viennese production, appears in several pieces attributed to his workshop.

The bureau "de changeur" presented here fits fully within this vocabulary. The richness of its ornament, the technical mastery of its metal and tortoiseshell marquetry, the organization of the decoration recalling the compositions of Bérain and Decker, and the chromatic palette characteristic of Puchwiser all support this attribution. The combination of a rare typology and decoration of such quality further enhances the importance of this piece within the Germanic corpus of Boulle marquetry.

Puchwiser’s known corpus remains limited, but several works now allow his hand to be identified with greater precision. A signed bureau Mazarin, preserved at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum (inv. R3363, dated 1714), constitutes a key reference. More recently, a signed medal cabinet appeared at auction at Sotheby’s, London, 4th July 2018, lot 14. These works, together with attributed pieces, reveal a craftsman capable of moving beyond both Viennese and French models.