André Charles Boulle

As is customary at the Château de Chantilly, it all started with a masterpiece that owes nothing to the Duc d’Aumale, since it was only in 2012 (!) that the Duc de Bourbon’s desk was able to ‘return’ to the Musée Condé thanks to a judicious reciprocal long-term loan between the Institut de France and the Château de Versailles (see news item of 19/3/12), which had been conserving it since the 19th century. Perfectly documented, this magnificent piece of furniture is one of the milestones in the production of the most famous cabinet-maker of all time, but one whose study has run up against such difficulties that no major exhibition has ever been devoted to it in France. So this summer’s exhibition, perfectly orchestrated by the Château de Chantilly, is a real event, even though it brings together ‘only’ two Boulle desks: the masterpiece saved at the last minute from the flames in the cabinetmaker’s workshop (ill. 1) and the smaller desk given to the Prince de Condé in 1816 as compensation for the first, which remained in the public domain!

1. André Charles Boulle (1642-1732)
Bureau plat du prince de Condé, c. 1720
Oak frame, brass and tortoiseshell marquetry, chased and gilded bronze - 78 x 197 x 93 cm
Chantilly, Musée Condé
Photo: Guillaume Benoit

See the image in its page

Coming from the collections of Lenoir du Breuil, a great connoisseur of the late 18-th century, this small desk is fortunate enough to have retained its splendid inlaid top (ill. 2), while so many others ended up being cut up and reused on new pieces of furniture, such as the famous secretary] by Montigny, a jewel in the crown of the Getty Museum and a textbook case of the transformations that took place just a few decades after the creation of the original pieces of furniture. This is one of the many pitfalls encountered by enthusiasts and specialists alike: our appreciation of ‘Boulle furniture’ has always suffered from pieces that have been shamelessly restored, transformed, imitated or even copied by unscrupulous dealers or craftsmen, as recent scandals tarnishing the reputations of respected figures have shown. While the Getty’s secretary is an entirely authentic work, and one that we would have dreamed of seeing returned to France, the problem of copies - and of fake pieces of furniture, designed with the intention of deceiving - has severely parasitised the study of Boulle, and has therefore encouraged the organisers of this exhibition to demonstrate the most rigorous intransigence, with the words ‘attributed to’ predominating in the labels of the works.

2. Attributed to André Charles Boulle (1642-1732)
Small flat desk, c. 1700
Oak frame, brass and tortoiseshell marquetry - 79 x 130 x 75 cm (detail)
Chantilly, Musée Condé
Photo: Guillaume Benoit

See the image in its page

This is particularly true of the small desk, presented in the exhibition with its counterpart, even if its quality appealed to the last Prince de Condé and…