What will become of Louis XV’s commode?

23/11/23 - Art market - Saint-Germain-en-Laye - Curious onlookers, connoisseurs, experts and dealers flocked to the Saint-Germain-en-Laye auction house this morning, where - for less than three days - an exceptional piece of furniture finally took pride of place, soon to be offered by Frédéric Laurent de Rummel and Peggy Savidan at SGL Enchères. The reappearance of the commode made by Charles Cressent and delivered by Antoine-Robert Gaudreaus (ill. 1) for King Louis XV’s bedroom at the Château de La Muette in August 1738 could only arouse the interest but also, alas, the fears of heritage lovers, since this piece, perfectly described and estimated at between €500,000 and €700,000 by expert Pierre-François Dayot, is surprisingly accompanied by its export certificate issued by the Ministry a few weeks ago...

1. The commode from Louis XV’s bedroom at the Château de La Muette
exhibited at SGL Enchères on 23/11/23
Photo: Alexandre Lafore

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As the staging chosen by SGL Enchères reminds us, this important piece of furniture belongs to the palm and flower commodes series, which marks the - timid - beginnings of the rocaille aesthetic for cabinetmaker Charles Cressent. Alexandre Pradère has made an excellent study of these pieces of furniture, first in his landmark article published in the Bulletin de la Société de l’Histoire de l’Art Français in 2000, then in the rich monograph he devoted to Cressent published by Faton in 2003. It was he who discovered on the back of this piece of furniture an ink number corresponding to the delivery of the piece to the Château de La Muette: while this provenance had certainly been forgotten, which is hardly surprising, the same could not be said of its authorship.

2. View of the notice for the chest of drawers in the 1934 Gramont sale catalog.
Photo: Alexandre Lafore

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The cabinetmaker’s name appears in the notice (ill. 2) in the catalog of the…