The original model of this luxurious table is closely associated with the oeuvre of one of the most iconic cabinet-makers of the Louis XVI period: Adam Weisweiler. A table of this model circa 1785-90, unstamped but attributed to Weisweiler, was sold from the Alexander Collection; Christie's, New York, 30 April 1999, lot 80 ($453,500). With its characteristic thuya veneer, pierced interlaced stretchers, facetted tapering legs and milled and pearled ormolu borders, Weisweiler's original was a characteristic product of the 'antique' style promoted by the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre. Established in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Weisweiler's collaboration with his fellow ébénistes Riesener (between 1778-85) and Beneman (post 1785) is well-documented, and whilst he was undoubtedly patronized by other marchands, including Julliot frères, the vast majority of his oeuvre was commissioned and sold directly through Daguerre. In the 1780's, Daguerre established his own shop in London to meet the demands of George, Prince of Wales and his circle, and it was this link to a thriving export trade that enabled Weisweiler to avoid the bankruptcy which befell so many of his colleagues during the Revolution.
The distinctive cockerel mounts, in direct contradiction to the subsequent Revolutionary fervor that was to seize France, must presumably predate the Terroir of 1793. It is interesting to note, therefore, that extremely similar putto reliefs, although painted, featured on the jewel-cabinet almost certainly commissioned by William Beckford whilst in Paris in 1788-93, sold Sotheby's Monaco, 14 June 1997, lot 137). This latter casket, also executed by Weisweiler, was ornamented with painted panels by le citoyen Sauvage (Piet-Joseph Sauvage), and the latter may well have provided the source for the Alexander frieze mounts.
A table of similar form with closely related stretchers, thuya veneer and putto mounts across the frieze, formerly in the collection of Alphonse de Rothschild, was sold by Baron de Redé, Sotheby's Monaco, 26 May 1975, lot 267. A side table in the Royal Collection, displaying a closely related ormolu relief and pierced, interlaced stretchers (although of different form and mounted with pietra dura panels), originally from the collection of the princesse de Salm, was acquired by George IV in 1816 ('P. Lemonnier, 'Les Julliot', L'Objet d'Art/L'Estampille, October 1989, pp.40-1).
Although the author of Weisweiler's mounts - so often supplied by Daguerre before 1794 - is not known conclusively, Weisweiler collaborated extensively with Thomire et Duterme even after his decision to set himself up as a marchand-ébéniste in 1797.
The art collections at Mentmore were amongst the most outstanding of their kind anywhere in the world, prompting Lady Eastlake to comment: 'I do not believe that the Medici were ever so lodged at the height of their glory'. Mentmore was built between 1852 and 1854 by Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild, who needed a house near to London and in close proximity to other Rothschild homes at Tring, Ascot, Aston Clinton and later Waddesdon and Halton House. The plans for the mansion imitated Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and were drawn up by the gardener turned architect Joseph Paxton, celebrated for his Crystal Palace, completed the year earlier. Sumptuously furnished with extraordinary works of art in every field, on his death in 1874, Baron Mayer left Mentmore and a fortune of some £2,000,000 to his daughter, Hannah de Rothschild. Four years later Hannah married Archibald Philip, 5th Earl of Rosebery, who added considerably to the collections assembled by his father-in-law and it remained intact until the dispersal of the contents in 1977.
.jpg?mode=max&width=600)