Louis XV style chest of drawers; France, c. 1880

Louis XV style commode; France, c. 1880s
Softwood frame; lacquer; gilded bronze; marble.
Measurements: 95 x 144 x 62 cm.

Splendid chest of drawers with two registers, with hidden crosspieces, which is a characteristic example of the historicist taste of the late 19th century, when the French workshops reinterpreted with great success the most refined models of the 18th century. Made with a coniferous wood structure, its surface is completely lacquered in imitation of the oriental pieces that, during the reign of Louis XV, had exerted a deep fascination in the European courts.

The influence of Chinese and Japanese art, sometimes introduced through imported lacquered screens and panels, is evident in the ornamentation of this piece. In the 18th century, renowned cabinetmakers such as Léonard Boudin adapted these oriental panels to French furniture, integrating them with gilded bronze applications that conceal the joints. Our chest of drawers is precisely reminiscent of Boudin's work for its balance between oriental and rococo movement, as well as for the interplay between lacquer and bronze.

Gilded bronze applications frame the lacquered surfaces and extend to the edges, the feet or "sabots" and the lower skirt or "cul-de-lampe". The handles, ingeniously integrated into the bronze compositions, do not interrupt the decorative rhythm of the lacquer, which displays floral motifs of great delicacy. The top panel, made of marble, is also typical of French furniture.

During the 18th century, the demand for lacquered furniture led to the search for techniques capable of emulating oriental lacquers, whose complexity and materials were impossible to reproduce in Europe. In France, this led to the development of vernis Martin, a lacquer developed by the Martin brothers. This process made it possible to imitate the deep luster and texture of oriental lacquers, democratizing its use in furniture and spreading rapidly throughout Europe, where the term vernis Martin came to designate, generically, European imitations of Asian lacquer.