Author: Philippe Vichot

Exceptionnel cabinet en laque du Japon d’époque Edo, sur un piètement en bois sculpté et doré. Paris, époque vers 1685

Etiquette de garde-meuble Royal Country Depositery, découpage d’un catalogue de vente comprenant la mention manuscrite Collection of Duke of Sussex.

Provenance Jean-Jacques Charron de Ménars (1644-1718) Collection du prince Augustus Frederick, duc de Sussex (1773-1843) Vente de ses collections, Christie and Manson, 1843
Collection privée, Angleterre

Dimensions : - Cabinet H 31 in - W 36,4 in - D 20,5 in - Stand : H 34,6 in - W 43,3 in - D 27 in - Total : H 65,7 in - W 43,3 in - D 27 in

The Japanese lacquer cabinet, decorated with animated landscapes with partridges, herons and birds. The two front doors, with lanceolate hinges and wide ormolu phoenix keyways, reveal an interior of ten lacquered drawers. Reinforced corners and angles. Flanked by carrying handles on the sides. The lacquers feature gold and silver cameo decoration with strong reliefs, and red reinforcements on the flowers.

It stands on a richly carved gilded wood base. Beneath a carved moulding adorned with lambrequins, the belt features a figure in a cartouche with contours adorned with plant motifs and wide garlands of carved flowers. It rests on four sheathed legs sculpted with caryatids on which garlands of flowers wrap, and linked by an X-shaped brace. All on wide lion paws.

Marque d’un Kanji à l’encre au dessous du cabinet ; et une étiquette descriptive rédigée en anglais sur le revers du vantail droit portant la mention manuscrite « collection Duke of Sussex ».

Our gilded wood base is decorated with a figure in a cartouche in the centre of the belt. This monogram consists of the interlaced letters CCJJM. The quality of this piece of furniture makes it possible to link this cypher to that of Jean-Jacques Charron, Marquis de Ménars (1643-1718), President of the Paris Parliament and Superintendent of the Queen's household, but also and above all Colbert's brother-in-law. This monogram was applied on numerous occasions, notably between the nerves of volumes in his library, which he is best known for the extraordinary wealth of his library after the purchase of that of President Jacques-Auguste de Thou in 1680.

The Marquis de Ménars stayed at the Hôtel de Ménars on rue de Richelieu, which has now disappeared, as well as at his Ménars estate, which was later acquired by Madame de Pompadour.

Our cabinet and its base would almost certainly have adorned one of these two houses, an important element in the décor in vogue at the time and a sign of high social status.

The most striking feature of this beautiful base is the extraordinary richness of its carved elements. It is therefore entirely possible to draw comparisons with the carved bases of cabinets made by the greatest cabinet-makers of the period, such as Domenico Cucci, Pierre Gole and even Charles Boulle. Indeed, the caryatid figures at the four corners, which literally seem to support the top on which the cabinet rests, bear a strong resemblance to the legs of Charles Boulle's great cabinets, such as the one in the Duke of Buccleuch's collection at Drumlanrig Castle or the one in the Paul Getty Museum.

These great Parisian cabinet-makers often worked to the designs of Charles Le Brun and Jean Le Pautre, who around 1650-1660 developed this type of base for tables, consoles and cabinet supports, consisting of figures in the round in place of legs to support the top.

An engraving by Jean Lepautre, dated around 1650-1660 and held by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, shows a rich cabinet with a base that bears many similarities in terms of the carved figures, flower garlands, lion paw feet and overall shape.