A Caron l'Ainé Secretaire

View Similar Items

Biedermeier Secretaire

Empire Secretaire

Biedermeier Secretaire

Biedermeier Revival Secretaire

Russian Neoclassic Mahogany Secretaire

English Regency Rosewood Secretaire

King George I Ambassadorial Secrétaire-Cabinet

1 of 4

A Caron l'Ainé Secretaire

About the Item

A Charles X rosewood secretaire commode. The front corners are fashioned as gothic cluster columns with boxwood marquetry gothic arches and inlaid paterae. The front upper frieze is inlaid with a gothic oval and opens to reveal a desk drawer lined in satinwood. Below are two doors inlaid with boxwood stringing and gothic circular panels which open to reveal a profusion of drawers and slides veneered with burr walnut and lined in satinwood. The design taken from the drawings of Caron l'Ainé.

Provenance:
Jean Josse Caron l'Ainé (1773-1838), his importance lies not so much in his achieved works, which only flowered for a brief period between 1831 and 1838, but in two key aspects of his career. The first lies in the influence on contemporary taste he exerted following 1836 when he wrote to the 'Garde-meuble de la couronne' offering them 'un bureau de dame à étagères en bois de palisandre de sa fabrique'. They accepted it and following this, many other commissions were granted. Caron's style became favoured and in a few short years he furnished many noble clients with pieces in this distinctive, delicately inlaid rosewood Gothic furniture, both in France and abroad.

The second key event was the publication, in 1836, of sixty designs under the title 'le manual de l'ébéniste'. Many of these are in the Gothic taste. He explains his style in the introduction: 'Beaucoup de personnes tiennent à se procurer des meubles confectionnés dans le gout simple et pur qui est aujourd'hui le gout dominant, mais d'autres donnent la préférence aux meubles fait dans le gout gothique, Il faut le dire, le nombre de ces derniers augmente dans une proportion telle que le genre gothique est une des branches principales du commerce de l'ébénisterie'.

In other words, though Caron offered Gothic style furniture, he was aware of the taste for furniture that exhibited simplicity even though the ornament could be rich. Caron was a precursor and disseminator of the Gothic style but his forms always retain Empire lines.

Dimensions:
Height: 37 in (93.98 cm)Width: 49 in (124.46 cm)Depth: 21 in (53.34 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Rosewood
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Circa 1840
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: F2F04081stDibs: U1010028646133