An Important Pair of Cabinets
By Grohé Frères of Paris

From a Noble Genoese Family

- These Louis XVI style cabinets are made from tulipwood, purpleheart, bois de rose banding, and firegilded bronze mounts

- They are made by Grohé Frères, founded in Paris in 1829, who earned acclaim with clients like Napoleon III, Empress Eugénie, and Queen Victoria

- Commissioned for a noble Genoese family's Summer Palace, they bear the family crest, architect's name, and cabinetmaker's stamp

Constructed primarily from matched tulipwood throughout, with purpleheart and bois de rose banding, the pair of cabinets designed in the Louis XVI manner and dressed with firegilded bronze mounts of superlative quality, each supported on reverse breakfront plinths with ormolu rosettes to the corners, the cabinets of conforming form with single doors each set with an ormolu relief medallion depicting putti, within a floral surround headed by lovebirds, opening to reveal a lined interior of bois citronnier, each door flanked by stop-fluted pilasters surmounted by oversized female caryatids holding a cornucopia and lovebird in alternating fashion, complementing the ribbon-tied floral garlands dressing the sides, the upper register with several ormolu rinceaux including guilloches, foliate, and Vitruvian scrolls, interposed by fine quarter-matched panels with beaded ormolu surrounds, surmounted by a moulded and bookmatched tulipwood veneered top. Each cabinet set with a small plaque bearing the crest of the family, the family’s architect, and the cabinetmaker’s name, which is also stamped to the carcass “Grohé Frères / Ébénistes du Roi / À Paris.”
French, circa 1850

Provenance:

Commissioned for the Summer Palace of an important Genoese Family

Grohé Frères

Guillaume Grohé, a renowned French cabinetmaker, was born near Mainz, Germany. In 1827, he and his brother Jean-Michel moved to Paris, where they established their business under the name “Grohé Freres” in 1829. The brothers first showcased their works at the “Exposition des produits de l'industrie Française” in 1834. They continued to exhibit their creations at prestigious events such as the International Exhibition of Paris in 1855 and the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876, where one of Guillaume's works was catalogued as a “masterpiece.”

Grohé Freres gained a distinguished clientele, including Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, who commissioned the company to furnish a new suite of apartments in the Louvre. Other notable patrons were King Louis-Philippe, the Duc d'Aumale, and Queen Victoria. The Parisian journal Figaro praised Guillaume Grohé's works in January 1884, describing him as a “veritable grand maître de l'ébénisterie artistique du XIXe siècle” (a true grand master of artistic cabinetmaking in the 19th century).

Throughout his career, Guillaume Grohé's exceptional craftsmanship and innovative designs solidified his reputation as one of the leading figures in French cabinetmaking during the 19th century, leaving a lasting impact on the art of furniture-making.