This richly decorated commode recalls the arabesque engravings of Jean Bérain (1640-1711) dessinateur de la Chambre et du cabinet du Roi from 1674, as published in Oeuvre de Jean Bérain recueillies par les soins de sieur thuret (1711). His engravings provided ample material for the ébenistes of the day and are seen on numerous Boulle marquetry commodes. The decoration of this cabinet reflects the courtly pastimes of the day with its playful depiction of a group playing instruments, lovers courting, dancers under parasols and hunters shooting birds and chasing rabbits and dogs. The Ottoman costume of the figures illustrates the great taste for ‘Turquerie’ at the court of Louis XIV, a vogue stoked by an increase in diplomatic relations which saw a revival of the Franco-Ottoman Alliance in the later 17th century. A commode with the same decoration en premiere partie et contre partie was sold Christie’s Paris 8 November 2005, lot 351 and excepting the addition of an apron and the different shape of the uprights is of similar composition to the present lot. The shape of the present lot is related to a four-drawer commode probably by Sageot in the Wallace Collection, London (F39). The curved uprights (pierced in the present example), handles and ormolu mouldings are common features to commodes attributed to Sageot. Another related commode was sold Christie’s New York 2 November 2000, lot 267.
Sageot had a thriving workshop on the rue du faubourg Saint-Antoine by 1698 and became a master in 1706. He evidently rapidly expanded his business, as by 1711 he had 12,000 livres, almost all in stock-in-trade. The extensive nature of his business is revealed by the sale in 1720 to Leonard Prieur 'Marchand Mercier Grossier Joaillier Privilegi suivant la Cour' of 16,000 livres worth of furniture, consisting of a wide range of armoires, bureaux and commodes. In the same year he sold 12,000 livres worth of bois de menuiserie to Claude Franois de Maignat, marchand de bois, consisting mainly of oak, pine and limewood. It is worth noting that most of Sageot's case pieces employ a pine drawer construction, as with the present lot.