19TH/20TH CENTURY

This pair of chenets in the form of brule-parfums recreate a superb design characteristic of the oeuvre of André-Charles Boulle. The pierced tripod urns comprising the upper bodies are identical to the urn finial atop a Boulle chandelier, attributed to the celebrated ébéniste and bronzier and previously in the collection of Louis Cartier, which was sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 25027 November 1979, lot 193; later sold at Christie’s, New York, 21 May 1996, lot 316; and later still at Sotheby’s, London, 5 July 2006, lot 4. These urn components also relate to a design by Jean Bérain (1637-1711) depicting a similar pierced urn supported apparently by four similar scrolling legs, and also with a flame finial, illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Proschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, I, Munich, 1986, p. 48, fig. 1.5.1. Bérain’s designs spread widely through engravings and inspired many artists and artisans of his time, including Boulle himself—his posthumous inventory in 1732 records his own collection of ‘dix huit livres en feuilles d’ornements de Berrain’.

At least two 18^th century pairs of the present model, attributed to Boulle himself, are known. The first was sold at Christie’s, London, 23 May 2018, lot 218; another was sold by Sotheby’s, London, 7 December 2000, lot 64, and may be the same as a pair sold by Couturier Nicolay, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 30 May 1980, lot 100. Interestingly, the present paw-footed tripod bases cast with portrait medallions are identical to elements appearing on various objects relating to or attributed to Boulle, including a pair of Régence chenets sold from the Lady de Trafford Collection at Christie's, London, 3 March 1994, lot 10; and a pair of ormolu bases supporting sculptures of Amphitrite and Bacchus by Michel Anguier, illustrated in J. N. Ronfort, André Charles Boulle (1642-1732). Un nouveau style pour l’Europe, Paris, 2009, p. 384, cat. nos. 96a-b.