Louis XVI Period Library Display Case Stamped Nicolas Alexandre Lapie 18th Century

Rare bookcase display case by Nicolas Alexandre Lapie, stamped. Hallmark of jurande JME, and barely legible iron mark (may be an indication of provenance or castle mark) Superb quality cabinetmaking. Gilt bronze fittings. Original marble top. Very good condition. Nicolas-Alexandre Lapie known as the elder (circa 1730 - February 8, 1775). Cabinetmaker. Paris. Master on August 17, 1764. He practiced on rue de Charenton. He signed: N.-A. Lapie, and he mainly made small tables. Son of Nicolas Lapie, earthenware merchant in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, he registered his master's letters at the Châtelet in Paris in 1764; and less than eleven years later, on February 8, 1775, he died at his home on rue de Charenton. Lapie used the mark NA-LAPIE to sign his works, an ink imprint of which can be seen on the record of the seals affixed to his home after his death. The same document mentions, among the pieces he left in progress, about twenty small tables called chiffonières. During the eleven years of his career, he produced numerous chiffonières tables and other Louis XV, Transition or Louis XVI furniture, of the classical type, covered with leaf veneer or marquetry.