PIERRE Garnier (1726-1800), attributed to - Lot 458

PIERRE Garnier (1726-1800), attributed to Rosewood and amaranth FLAT DESKTOP opening to two registers of four drawers and a central drawer, the back with two leaves revealing two compartments, the drawer fronts and sides with protruding shelves, the top resting on projecting corner pilasters supported by a plinth, the drawers and sides veneered in butterfly wing within a double black and white filleted frame; (minor restorations, notably to the veneer). Louis XVI period, circa 1760-1770. H: 78 cm, W: 145.5 cm, D: 80.5 cm References C. de Quénetain, Pierre Garnier, Paris, 2003. Provenance : Château de Montchevreuil (Hauts-de-France), which in the 20th century brought together the former Balleroy, Mornay and Soult collections. With the emergence of the new "Greek" style in the second half of the 1750s, and in conjunction with cabinetmaker Joseph Baumhauer, Pierre Garnier produced three desks similar to the one shown here, two of which are topped by a curtained top. The first is undoubtedly from the former Ann Getty collection in Los Angeles (New York sale, Christie's, October 22, 2022, lot 443), inscribed with the year 1767. A second stepped desk once belonged to the Edmond Safra collection (New York sale, Sotheby's, October 19, 2011, lot 730), it is virtually identical to the previous one but made in rosewood and amaranth, unlike the one in the Getty collection, entirely in amaranth. The third desk listed is the closest in structure to our example and is the one formerly in the Steinitz gallery (gallery catalog, Paris, 2004, p. 92-194). Identical in size to the other two (approx. 195 cm wide), it is not topped by a shelf and, like the other two desks, opens with nine drawers and three registers on the front. This layout is the main feature of a new kind of furniture for its time. Stylistically, the neoclassicism of these desks is particularly apparent in the use of three-fluted pilasters surmounted by a disc in a square. These two elements, both architectural (the shape of the piece) and decorative, can also be found on the desk in this sale. Its appearance on the market adds to the fortunes of the original model. In fact, the simplified version of the three desks examined here is a smaller variant (145 cm instead of 195 cm), with woods similar to those used in the Safra collection, and the absence of a step similar to that of the Steinitz gallery. Other differences include the use of three simulated flutes instead of brass-faced flutes, and the different layout of the square, which is adorned not with a disc but with a rosette surmounted by a triglyph.