Gardener; France, last quarter of the 19th century.

Planter; France, last quarter of the nineteenth century.
Wooden soul and marquetry of part and counterpart. Brass, tortoiseshell simile. Wooden top.
It has slight faults and interventions.
Measurements: 23 x 59 x 31 cm; 66 x 67 x 38 cm (base).
This French jardinière from the last quarter of the XIX century is an example of the high decorative cabinetmaking that characterized the refined taste of the Belle Époque. The piece presents a finely worked wood core structure and is enriched with a complex marquetry of part and counterpart, combining brass and tortoiseshell simile, a technique that refers directly to the legacy of André-Charles Boulle and the tradition of the so-called Boulle style, still in force in the luxury Parisian workshops of the late 19th century. The wooden top houses a receptacle, probably intended to contain ornamental plants, while the sides of the box are profusely decorated with scrolls, shells and floral motifs executed with a technical virtuosity that reflects the craftsmen's absolute mastery of the materials. The edges are highlighted with gilded moldings, providing an effect of visual richness and dynamism. The jardinière rests on an elegant stretcher frame with curved legs of sinuous lines and an openwork panel with rocailles, characteristic of the revived rococo taste that so attracted the aristocratic and bourgeois clientele of the period. Overall, the quality of the carving, the precision of the assembly and the exuberance of the decorative program make this jardinière a paradigmatic piece of historicist French cabinetmaking, designed not only to fulfill a practical function, but also to be a prestigious object that testifies to the opulence and refinement of its time.