Mathieu Befort Jeune (1813 - 1880)
Mathieu Befort Jeune (1813 - 1880)
A Fine Louis XV Style Ebonised Bureau Plat
FRANCE, Circa 1870
REF No. B70540
The bronze mounts stamped to the reverse ‘BF’ and numbered ‘162’ or ‘92’.
dimensions
Height :80 cm | 43¹/₂ in
Width :155 cm | 61 in
Depth :85 cm | 45¹/₂ in
Width :155 cm | 61 in
Depth :85 cm | 45¹/₂ in
description
This striking ebonised and gilt-bronze mounted bureau plat is of exceptional quality with graceful proportions and fine gilt-bronze mounts.
The design is inspired by 18th century examples by the master ébéniste Andre Charles Boulle, such as the Bureau du président de Machault, and the Bureau des princes de Condé at Versailles.
The bureau is inlaid with brass arabesque and has finely modeled gilt-bronze masks depicting Poseidon to the sides and exceptional female masks heading the legs. The top has a tooled leather writing surface.
The design is inspired by 18th century examples by the master ébéniste Andre Charles Boulle, such as the Bureau du président de Machault, and the Bureau des princes de Condé at Versailles.
The bureau is inlaid with brass arabesque and has finely modeled gilt-bronze masks depicting Poseidon to the sides and exceptional female masks heading the legs. The top has a tooled leather writing surface.
maker
Mathieu Befort (Befort Jeune) (1813-1880) is recorded as having worked in Paris from 1836 until 1880.
He was descended from a family of renowned ébénistes and was the son of the renowned cabinetmaker Jean-Baptiste Befort, known as Befort Père, who was of Belgian origin and renowned for having supplied furniture for the apartments of the Duc d'Orléans.
Father and son are noted for their interpretations of furniture by André-Charles Boulle and the creation of vernis matin and porcelain mounted furniture, often in the manner of Riesener.
The firm received a medal at the 1844 Exposition de l'Industrie Française, and earnt Befort a reputation for the high quality of his work. As a result he became a purveyor to Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie.
Makers Bilbliography:
Ledoux-Lebard, Denise Les Ebénistes du XIX Siècle, Editions de l'Amateur, (Paris) 1984, pps. 48-50.
He was descended from a family of renowned ébénistes and was the son of the renowned cabinetmaker Jean-Baptiste Befort, known as Befort Père, who was of Belgian origin and renowned for having supplied furniture for the apartments of the Duc d'Orléans.
Father and son are noted for their interpretations of furniture by André-Charles Boulle and the creation of vernis matin and porcelain mounted furniture, often in the manner of Riesener.
The firm received a medal at the 1844 Exposition de l'Industrie Française, and earnt Befort a reputation for the high quality of his work. As a result he became a purveyor to Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie.
Makers Bilbliography:
Ledoux-Lebard, Denise Les Ebénistes du XIX Siècle, Editions de l'Amateur, (Paris) 1984, pps. 48-50.
literature
Ledoux - Lebard, Denise. Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Les Editions de L'Amateur, (Paris), 1984; pp. 48-50.
