A Magnificent Louis XVI Style Lacquer Commode

Portrait of Jean-Henri Riesener, seated at one of his writing tables, by Antoine Vestier, 1786 (Musée de Versailles).

Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806) was one of the greatest French cabinetmakers of all time. From humble beginnings as a German immigrant in Paris, he found fame through the delivery of a magnificent roll-top desk, the ‘Bureau du Roi’, to Louis XV in 1769. He went on to become Marie-Antoinette’s favourite cabinetmaker, supplying the queen and the court of Louis XVI with sumptuous furniture of superb quality. Renowned for his exquisite marquetry and refined designs, his pieces were ornamented with spectacular gilt-bronze mounts. In the nineteenth century, Riesener’s name became associated with the very best of Louis XVI-period French furniture. His famous furniture became highly sought after, sold for record prices and inspired nineteenth century makers such as Henry Dasson, Alfred Beurdeley and François Linke to replicate his designs.

Riesener was born in Gladbeck, north of Essen, Germany and came to Paris at young age to work for Jean-Francois Œben, cabinetmaker to the King. Upon his master’s premature death in 1763, Riesener took over the management of the workshops, under the control of Œben’s widow, who he married in 1767. Riesener obtained his master’s degree and in 1769 he completed, signed and delivered the magnificent roll-top desk to Louis XV, which had been begun by Œben. The ‘Bureau du Roi’ is exceptional for its novelty, the refinement of its marquetry, the quality of its bronze details and above all the ingeniousness of its mechanism, a single turn of the key closes the roll-top. The prestige of this piece of furniture was immense and definitively established the reputation of Riesener. From the coronation of Louis XVI until 1784, Riesener supplied more than 938,000 livres worth of furniture to the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne. He was responsible for many important contributions to the formation of the Louis XVI style in France, of which he was undoubtedly the master.

In 1776, his wife died and a second marriage in 1783, brought him little satisfaction. Around this time Riesener’s business began to decline, as he was ousted from the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne due to the prices he charged, which were called excessive and even ridiculous. Part of his clientele turned to his rival Benneman. Marie-Antoinette, however, remained faithful to him. In 1783, Riesener produced for the queen a commode and companion secretaire cabinet mounted in Japanese lacquer which are today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Considered the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Riesener’s oeuvre, they are possibly the best-known pieces of royal furniture outside France. Also in the 1780s, for the queen’s boudoir at Fontainebleau, Riesener produced fragile furniture decorated with mother-of-pearl that was exceptional and unique in its genre.

With the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the Revolution destroyed the market for luxury furniture and Riesener was able to buy back many of his pieces for a fraction of what he had sold them for. He had assumed that the market would return but, as the months passed and facing bankruptcy, he was forced to hold sales of his furniture in 1794 and 1798. Bowing to public sentiment, Riesener removed from the ‘Bureau du Roi’ the royal cyphers and replaced the portrait plaque of Louis XV with a profile of Minerva. Riesener died in 1806, having been forced out of his house and into the home of his son and before the market for his magnificent furniture rebounded. Soon after, British collectors, notably George IV, King of England, drove a new market for Riesener’s work, which having been made for the French nobility, found sanctuary in the country houses of the British aristocracy.

Riesener’s pieces continue to be highly sought after and are found in major museums worldwide. His furniture was much copied during the nineteenth century, most famously the ‘Bureau du Roi’ at Versailles, of which versions were made by Henry Dasson, Alfred Beurdeley and François Linke.

Bibliography:
P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIe Siècle Dictionnaire des Ébénistes et des Menuisiers, Paris, 1989, pp. 693-717.
Kopf, Silas. A Marquetry Odyssey: Historical Objects and Personal Work, Antique Collector’s Club, 2008, pp. 109-111.
H. Jacobsen, R. Bird, M. Jackson, Jean-Henri Riesener: Cabinetmaker to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, London, 2020.

F. J. B. Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, London, 1960, pl. 84
P. Verlet, French Royal Furniture. An historical survey, London, 1963, pp. 159-160.
P. Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés du XVII Siècle, Paris 1987, pp. 370-373.
P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIe Siècle Dictionnaire des Ébénistes et des Menuisiers, Paris, 1989, p. 697.
D. Kisluk-Grosheide et al. European furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: highlights of the collection, New York, 2006, pp. 198-201.