17448
An Exceptional Vernis Martin Cabinet-on-Stan by Henry Dasson
An Exceptional Vernis Martin Cabinet-on-Stan by Henry Dasson
Dimensions: H: 56 in / 141 cm | W: 42 in / 106 cm | D: 17 in / 43 cm
PRICE: £89,000
17448
An Exceptional Vernis Martin Cabinet-on-Stand
In the Louis XVI Style
By Henry Dasson
Surmounted by its original double-moulded Brocatelle d'Espagne marble top and constructed from bois citronnier, mahogany, highlighted with boxwood stringing and dressed with hand-chased, burnished ormolu mounts, the cabinet supported on tapering fluted legs, expertly inlaid with concave brass filets, terminating on toupie feet with foliate cast sabots, the legs connected with a looped stretcher, the apron centred by a large mask of the sun god Apollo, concealing a subdivided drawer opened with a spring-button mechanism, the cabinet's doors centred with painted Vernis Martin panels of Venus & Aeneas opening to reveal a shelved interior. The corners of the cabinet are defined by ormolu female caryatids while the sides are finished with crossbanded and strung bois citronnier and ormolu paterae below a frieze inset with ormolu foliate rinceaux and an egg-and-dart moulding. The carcass stamped 'Henry Dasson' twice.
French, circa 1885
This cabinet has all the hallmarks of the greatest furniture made in Henry Dasson's Paris ateliers, embodying the style of the eighteenth century Ancien Régime in modern ways. The design relates to the work of Adam Weisweiler, who pioneered the use of interlaced stretchers and caryatid mounts (this variant with the tasselled cushion also seen on a console table now in the Royal Collection). The ormolu mount of Apollo, however, is inspired by Riesener's famous regulator clock (today in the Louvre), a design which Dasson also produced in the nineteenth century.
Venus and Aeneas
This depiction of Venus and Aeneas reflects themes from classical mythology, specifically Venus's divine guidance of her son, Aeneas, as seen in Virgil's Aeneid. Famous artists such as François Boucher, Angelica Kaufmann and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo painted variations of the story, which can today be admired in museums including the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, the Wallace Collection, as well as the Palace of Schönbrunn.
Henry Dasson (1825-1896)
Henry Dasson was a celebrated furniture maker of the second half of 19th century who specialised in making ormolu (gilt bronze) mounts. His work was mainly inspired by the art of the period of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI style, adapting them to conform with the needs of the times.
In 1871 he bought the company of Charles-Guillaume Winckelsen at 106, rue Vieille-du-Temple. Dasson exhibited at international exhibitions including Paris in 1878 where he was lauded by Louis Gonse, art critic and Director of the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, for the perfection of his work. Dasson won the Grand Prix Artistique and Légion d'honneur for his work
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