H.-l. Wassmus, Flat Desk, France, Circa 1860

Beautiful Louis XV style desk in rosewood veneer and chiseled and gilded bronze. It is decorated on all sides, in cartouches circled by a frieze of eggs and foliage, with a marquetry of diamonds. Covered with a top sheathed with black leather and surrounded by a mold, it opens on one side with three drawers. The whole rest on four cabriole legs decorated at the corner with ram’s heads and ending with four leafy hooves.

Biography :
The Wassmus were a family of cabinet-makers active in Paris from around 1815 to 1868, suppliers to the Imperial Garde-Meuble under the Second Empire, specializing in the creation of prestigious marquetry furniture. Under the company name Wassmus brothers first operated Jean-Henri-Chrétien (1784-1858) and his brother Jean-Henri-Christophe (1786/1864) then their sons, including Henri-Léonard (1817-1884), who created and designed most of the furniture coming out of the workshop. Working as a family, it is difficult to precisely attribute the works by author. They specialized in the manufacture of very high-quality furniture, particularly in the Boulle, Louis XV, Louis XVI and Napoleon III styles. The Louis XVI-style chests of drawers furnishing the Hôtel de Marigny in Paris are by Henri-Léonard Wassmus ; they come from the Prince Imperial’s bedroom at the Élysée Palace. In 1844, they were awarded a silver medal at the Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie, and exhibited at the Universal Exhibitions in Paris in 1855 and 1867.

Bibliography :
Les ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l’Amateur, 1984, p. 620-621