I.dubois And Jme— Greek-style Corner, Louis XV / Louis XVI Transition.

A rare and interesting corner cabinet in the "Greek style," attributed to René Dubois, is veneered in satinwood, amaranth, and boxwood, with a Rance marble top. This low corner cabinet opens with a right-hand pull-out door. The interior is fitted with a shelf, and the inner front of the door is veneered in satinwood. Our piece bears the stamp I·DUBOIS combined with the JME hallmark, the mark of the Parisian master cabinetmakers' guild. This I.Dubois stamp was used by Jacques Dubois (1694-1763) and then continued within the workshop, a practice maintained by his widow and son, René Dubois (1735-1799). The decorative style clearly places our corner cabinet in this period—c. 1760-1775—when the vocabulary of the "new Greek taste" emerged, before the Louis XVI style became established. We are at the very heart of the moment when the style shifts: still Louis XV in its curved forms… but already Neoclassical in its rectangular reserves, sharp angles, and the geometric and orthogonal nature of the decoration. Stylistic similarities: the base with its projecting, geometric, “Greek-style” offsets is an extremely rare aesthetic signature. This type of base—highly architectural and angular—is almost never found on corner cabinets. We find here the same ornamental vocabulary observed on certain very high-quality pieces from the same decade, notably in the world of Jean-François Oeben, from 1760 onward, and in the Parisian “new Greek taste.” This type of similarity places our corner cabinet precisely within this very short period of aesthetic exploration: around 1760-75, the moment when Paris moved beyond the last vestiges of Rococo to embrace “architecture.” It is therefore highly probable that this corner cabinet was made under the direction of René Dubois in the family workshop. Technical notes: - Original oak and fir frame. - 18th-century Rance marble top recut to shape (the piece was without marble when acquired). - Original lock: very fine bronze lever handle model — functional — matching bronze-headed key. - Later brass hinges. - Old but later lock escutcheon. - Cabinet refinished with a French polish. René Dubois (1737–1799), Parisian cabinetmaker. Master in 1755. Son of cabinetmaker Jacques Dubois, he took over the family workshop on rue de Charenton in 1763 and enjoyed a significant reputation from the 1770s onward. The 1779 Almanach des Marchands mentions him as a supplier to the Court, notably to Marie Antoinette. His work, highly representative of the early Louis XVI style, blends architectural rigor with, at times, "chinoiserie" decoration in lacquer and varnish. A significant number of secretaries, consoles, small chests of drawers, and bookcases are attributed to him; several examples are held in the Louvre, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Wallace Collection, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. René Dubois emerged as a major figure in the transition between the waning Louis XV and the pure Louis XVI periods. He perpetuated the excellence of his father's workshop and brought the "Dubois" name to its zenith during the very years when Marie Antoinette was imposing her style. Dimensions (marble): height 87 cm, depth on sides: 51.5 cm