LOUIS XVI CARTON MAKER, LATE 18TH CENTURY

cabinet veneered in wood, the upper section featuring two drawers surmounted by doors edged with a fluted gilt-bronze molding, decorated with fleur-de-lis, and centered with a finely chiseled mask-shaped drawer pull. Inside are six drawers for storage, delicately adorned with gilt foliage. The lower section, decorated with the same gilt-bronze ornamentation, also opens with two doors on the front, resting on foliate sabot feet. It includes a sliding shelf with two pull handles. The cabinet conceals a compartment with a door on the side. A fluted molding highlights each section of the cabinet. Good overall condition with some minor signs of wear.

The symmetry and refined simplicity of the ornamentation on our piece of furniture are characteristic of the Louis XVI style . Never before in the history of French furniture had cabinetmakers displayed such exquisite finesse in the execution of details. They demonstrated impeccable taste in their choice of neoclassical decorative motifs, rich enough to soften the starkness of the orthogonal forms. An incomparable feature of the Louis XVI style lies in the meticulous treatment of ornamentation by sculptors and especially by bronze workers. Among the most common motifs, often inherited from classical architecture, are dentils, fluted moldings, acanthus, oak, or pearl friezes, interlacing patterns, ribbons, rosaries, and lancets.

Among the most popular pieces of furniture at the end of the 18th century were chests of drawers, wardrobe bases, cabinets, and sideboards. The number of shelves and their arrangement varied considerably from one piece to another; some models featured a large mirror as a back panel.