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Maison Millet
A Pair of Large and Magnificent Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marquetry Pedestals
£150,000
A Pair of Large and Magnificent Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marquetry Pedestals, By Maison Millet, Paris. Each with a brêche marble revolving...
Dimensions
Height: 133 cm (53 in)Width: 44 cm (18 in)
Depth: 44 cm (18 in)
PrintDescription
A Pair of Large and Magnificent Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marquetry Pedestals, By Maison Millet, Paris.
Each with a brêche marble revolving top with channelled gilt-bronze rim with acanthus florets. The waisted neck above a bombé-shaped body richly mounted with rocaille encadrements of scrolling flowers and shells. These frames enclose fields of bois de bout floral marquetry which detail flowerheads and trailing foliage in precious timbers against a richly polished ground. The pedestals taper towards the base and are raised on scrolled sabots.
Stamped ‘MILLET A PARIS’
The marble tops 30 cm | 12 inches square
France, Circa 1880.
These large pedestals, in French called ‘gaines galbées’ are designed in the pittoresque Rococco style of the Louis XV period as interpreted during the late nineteenth century revival. This is evident in the curvaceous bombé form, rocaille gilt-bronze mounts, floral marquetry and especially the corner busts of latticed bodice females and men wearing tricorne hats.
It is rare to find a pair of such large and lavishly ornamented pedestals, and this pair undoubtedly number among the most magnificent examples produced by the famous ébéniste and bronzier Blaise Millet, and his son Théodore Millet, of Maison Millet, Paris.
This distinctive bust mounts of men and women in Louis XV style costume are a signature sculptural mount of Millet’s creation. They also feature to a monumental side cabinet, or ‘meuble à hauteur d’appui’ sold Sotheby, New York, 16 November 2011, lot 308. Another pedestal of this model by Millet, surmounted by a clock, is recorded in a Private collection.
Another pedestal of this model by Millet, surmounted by a clock, in a private collection.
Date
Circa 1880
Origin
France
Medium
Gilt-Bronze and Marquetry
Signature
Stamped 'MILLET A PARIS'.
Maison Millet was established by Blaise Millet in 1853, and continued by his son Theodore until 1902 from premises at 11 rue Jacques-Coeur, Paris, before relocating to 23 boulevard Beaumarchais.
Millet produced fine quality meubles de luxe, specialising in meubles et bronzes d’art, genre ancien et moderne, with an accent on the Louis XV and XVI styles. The firm’s work covered a wide range of furniture, including authorised copies of eighteenth-century styles.
Millet won awards in Paris and London including a gold medal at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, a Grand Prix in 1900 and three further diplômes d’honneur and four médailles d’or. In 1902 the firm was authorised by the director of the Palace of Versailles to replicate Marie-Antoinette’s celebrated Grand cabinet √† bijoux.
Maison Millet was an active client of François Linke.
Bibliography:
Mestdagh, Camille & Lécoules, Pierre. L’Ameublement d’Art Français, 1850-1900, Les Editions de L’Amateur, (Paris), 2010.
Meyer, Jonathan. Great Exhibitions – London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851-1900, Antique Collectors’ Club, (Woodbridge, UK), 2006; pps. 276, 317, 320.
Ledoux – Lebard, Denise. Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Les Editions de L’Amateur, (Paris), 1984; pp. 484-486.
