Important Chest Of Drawers Stamped A. Criaerd.

High-quality chest of drawers, tomb-shaped with a curved front in three rows of drawers (five drawers in all), veneered with violet wood inlaid with geometric frieze, and adorned with a rich decoration of period gilded bronzes. The A. CRIAERD stamp appears on the apron of the four uprights, a sign of a particularly careful work, from an elite workshop. Of the "tomb chest of drawers" type, this piece of furniture with strong lateral and frontal curvature presents a broad and majestic curve. The front opens with five drawers in three rows: two large lower drawers, two drawers on the upper row, separated by a narrow central drawer. The latter is subtly integrated into a continuous frieze, without breaking the veneer, giving the illusion of a single large drawer - a refined aesthetic effect that elongates the front and visually balances the curve. The violet wood veneer is worked in a crisscross pattern and diamond points (squares on the point obtained by four joined leaves), a marquetry highly prized during the Regency and the beginning of the reign of Louis XV. This type of decoration is found on works by Migeon, Doirat, Mondon, Carel and of course Criaerd, all linked to Gaudreaus, cabinetmaker to the king. The front crosspieces are highlighted by copper channels, embedded in the structure. The frame is consistent with the great Parisian productions: oak and softwood, drawers mounted in oak with rebated bottoms, we also note the use of poplar for the intermediate floors and drawer fronts. The furniture is embellished with original chiseled and gilded bronzes, including large Rocaille pull handles, foliate falls at the corners of the uprights, a scalloped apron with openwork decoration, as well as bronze sabots. These bronzes feature a lively and deep chiseling, typical of high-end productions. It is topped with its original red griotte marble, molded with a corbin beak and throat. Historical context: Of Flemish origin, Antoine Criaerd is the elder brother of Mathieu Criaerd, and active in Paris in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine between 1720 and 1750. As Pierre Kjellberg points out, his known works are exclusively in the Louis XV style and belong to the Regency period or the beginning of the reign, mixing dark veneers and geometric marquetry decorations (p. 211). He probably worked for the merchant-cabinetmaker Pierre IV Migeon, close to Gaudreaus. According to Alcouffe, Grall and Perfettini (Antoine Robert Gaudreaus, cabinetmaker to Louis XV, ed. Faton), "it is probably the excellence of Criaerd's workshop that explains his professional success and which earned him extensive employment in the service of the Crown by Gaudreaus, then by Hébert and Joubert." The Munich Residence holds a pair of small chests of drawers with diamond marquetry stamped by Criaerd (c. 1740–1750), with a decoration very close to our model. Comparative bibliography: Pierre Kjellberg, Le mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 1989, pp. 211–212. Daniel Alcouffe, Élisabeth Grall, Jean Perfettini, Antoine Robert Gaudreaus, ébéniste de Louis XV, ed. Faton, Dijon, 2022, pp. 176–181. Remarks This luxury commode, representative of the great Parisian workshops under Louis XV, combines sophisticated marquetry, precious ornamentation and a perfectly mastered design. It is a rare model, complete from the period, with its original marble and bronzes, stamped four times, which fully deserves its place among the prestigious productions of the period. This piece of furniture comes from a collection, it is in very good condition, revised, with the varnish redone, impeccable gilding, intact marble. This piece of furniture has an old certificate of expertise. Dimensions: Height: 83cm Width: 1m34 Depth: 66cm