Louis XV style commode "a la manière de Boudin". France, ca. 1880

Louis XV style commode "a la manière de Boudin". France, ca. 1880.
Lacquered softwood, gilded bronze and marble.
Measurements: 95 x 144 x 62 cm.

A high quality example of 19th century French historicist production, this piece is especially attractive for its combination of oriental-inspired black lacquer and profuse gilt bronze ornamentation in the Louis XV style, which is highly sought after in the market. Its design of two drawers with hidden crosspieces and its sinuous silhouette reproduce with remarkable fidelity the models of the great eighteenth-century ébénistes.

The lacquered panels, with their refined execution and well-preserved palette, feature floral and bird motifs with a clear Chinese-Japanese influence, an aesthetic closely associated with French rococo luxury furniture. This integration of lacquer and bronze directly evokes the production of masters such as Léonard Boudin, whose pieces are distinguished by the balance between exoticism and ornamental fluidity; a reference model that remains highly valued by collectors.
The gilded bronze frame - of great volume, precise modeling and warm gilding - frames the fronts and sides, emphasizing the curves of the piece of furniture and reinforcing the sumptuous character of the whole. Particularly noteworthy are the cul-de-lampe, the sabots and the organically integrated handles, avoiding breaks in the decorative reading of the front.
The chest of drawers is topped with a reddish veined marble top, typical of French luxury furniture and highly appreciated both for its chromatic beauty and its resistance.

Within the Louis XV revival, this type of lacquered chests of drawers "in the manner of Boudin" occupies a niche of high demand by collectors looking for decorative pieces of strong presence, with the additional attraction of the vernis Martin technique or its later variants, which made it possible to reproduce the visual depth of oriental lacquer in European contexts.