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André-Charles Boulle (1642 - 1732) (Workshop of)
Kneehole Desk withTendril Marquetry, c.1700
brass, tortoiseshell, ebony, gilt-bronze, black leather on oak, fir and walnut
30 3/4 in. x 57 7/8 in. x 2 15/16 in. (78.11 cm x 147 cm x 7.46 cm)
Henry Clay Frick Bequest.
Accession number: 1918.5.101
Not on View
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Commentary: All of the vertical surfaces of this eight-legged desk are veneered with panels of Boulle's distinctive tortoiseshell and brass marquetry, framed by ebony. Although Italian in origin, this sumptuous style of marquetry was brought to perfection in Boulle’s workshop and soon became synonymous with his name. In this technique, sheets of brass and tortoiseshell are temporarily glued together, and the design is cut out with a marquetry saw. Each material can thus serve as background for the other; here, Boulle’s characteristic design of scrolling vines is executed in engraved tortoiseshell on a ground of brass.
The ornate marquetry panels harmonize with eight exquisitely modeled gilt-bronze mounts set diagonally at the corners of the two lateral drawer-cases, representing busts of acanthus-crowned nymphs rising from leafy scrolls. These large projecting figures, the smaller masks of laurel-wreathed nymphs, and the two central saytr-mask keyhole escutcheons, all probably produced in Boulle’s atelier, continue the sylvan motif of the tendril marquetry. The character of the piece links it convincingly with the workshop of Boulle, although there is no secure documentation. One of the last in a series of remarkable eight-legged bureaux, the desk reflects the grandeur and formality of the time of Louis XIV.
Furniture in the style of Boulle continued to be produced well into the nineteenth century, and his original works have long been prized as collectors’ items. In the Living Hall of The Frick Collection, along with a pair of octagonal pedestals and a writing table from Boulle’s workshop, all with tendril marquetry, are several pieces done by other cabinetmakers in his style. Of special interest are two nineteenth-century copies of Boulle’s famous “sarcophagus” chests at Versailles.
Source: Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.
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