The gilt-bronze encadrements to this cabinet were made by the Parisian fondeur and doreur Henri Picard who was based at 6 rue Jarente in 1831, moving to 10 rue de la Perle in 1839 where he remained until 1864. His firm worked on the petits appartements of Emperor Napoléon III at the Louvre, and was known for its fine quality production of pièces de table and garnitures de cheminée.

This type of side cabinet, called a meuble à hauteur d'appui, is richly mounted with semi-precious hardstones in the Florentine style of the opificio delle pietre dure, a technique revived to meet the luxuriant tastes of Napoléon III’s Second Empire. Parisian ébénistes at the time, such as Mathieu Befort and Georges Monbro, specialised in producing furniture mounted with pietre dure plaques. A pair of related cabinets, with many similarities and as such evidently by the same workshop, sold Christie’s, London, 29 October 1998, lot 292.


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