A Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted tulipwood and kingwood marquetry commode, circa 1750-1760, stamped by Pierre Roussel

Schloss Ahlden, 28 April 2024, lot 1510

Related literature:

P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1989, pp. 329-330 and pp. 728-730.

P. Verlet, Les Ebénistes du XVIIIe Siècle Français, Paris, 1963, p. 131.

Pierre Roussel, cabinetmaker, received his master in 1745.

Established on the rue de Charenton, under the sign of the Image of Saint Peter, Roussel was described as early as 1769 in the Almanach de Vray Mérite as "l’un des premiers ébénistes de Paris". His workshop was particularly renowned for its floral marquetry, frequently intended for the German market and enhanced by a pronounced use of engraving, which accentuated its naturalistic character. This commode fits perfectly within this body of work from the early 1750s and 1760s, a period during which its decorative style achieved remarkable coherence.

Very similar works, both in the composition of the marquetry and in the gilt-bronze mounts, allow us to situate this type of production within a clearly defined group. A commode, formerly in the collections of the Duchess of Lévis-Mirepoix and then the Huntington Collection (San Marino), was sold in the Alexander Collection at Christie’s New York 30 April 1999, lot 180. Other comparable examples have appeared on the market, notably at Christie’s London (10 June 2004, lot 132; 16 December 1966, lot 178), at Ader Tajan Paris (23 November 1994, lot 156), as well as a piece from the collection of the Earls of Harewood, sold at Sotheby’s in 1932.

The inventory drawn up by Leleu and Cochois after Roussel’s death in 1783 reveals a workshop then at its peak. While the cabinetmaking appears to have been largely carried out in-house, notably by his sons Pierre-Michel (who became a master in 1766) and Pierre the Younger (who became a master in 1771), the bronze work was entrusted to specialists such as Turchin, Ravrio, or the gilder Trufot. This organization explains the recurrence of similar mounting designs on works attributed to Mathieu Criaerd or the merchant-cabinetmaker Adrien-Faizelot Delorme, while certain corner elements described as being in the "Greek style" are also found in the work of Jean-Baptiste Fromageau (P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1989, pp. 329-330).