As part of the sale dedicated to ancient paintings and drawings, historical souvenirs, furniture and objets d'art, the House of PIASA is offering for sale on Thursday, June, 4, 2020 a remarkable pair of blackened wood and marquetry cabinets attributed to one of the most emblematic cabinetmakers of the mid-19th century: Mathieu Béfort, known as Béfort Jeune.
Born in Paris in 1813 into a highly reputed family of cabinetmakers, Mathieu Befort produced exceptional furniture during his career, strongly inspired by the productions of André Charles Boulle. The contributions of this cabinetmaker and draughtsman, active during the reign of Louis XIV, were still very much in evidence in the mid-19th century. The specificity of Boulle's work consists in decorating furniture with a marquetry veneer made of different materials: wood, metal (pewter, brass) or tortoise shell, cut according to a very precise design and glued on the furniture. Mathieu Befort was active in the capital from the late 1830s to the early 1880s.
He was awarded a medal at the 1844 Exposition de l'Industrie Française. The quality of his work gave him a reputation thanks to which he became a supplier to Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie.
A pair of ormolu-mounted "boulle" marquetry and ebony cabinet, mid 19th century, attributed to Béfort.
Each with a rectangular top above an egg-and-dart border, the tripartite facade decorated with S-scroll, satyr mask,
Mascarons, and bronze frame above a shaped apron and on height toupie feet.
59,2 x 48,6 x 20 in
Estimation : 30 000 / 40 000 euros
The pair of cupboards offered for sale on Thursday, June 4, 2020 is made of blackened wood, ebony, marquetry in return for brown tortoiseshell and engraved brass. Their tripartite front opens thanks to three hinged leaves.
A pair of ormolu-mounted "boulle" (détail)
The decoration is characteristic of Mathieu Befort's production. Surrounded by gilded bronze frames, a scroll decoration is accompanied by brackets, zoomorphic (satyr heads, ram heads) and geometrical motifs. Measuring nearly 1.5 metre, they rest on a projecting base and on eight circular feet. Three almost very similar pieces of furniture were inventoried in 1912 in the large gallery of Richard Wallace's private mansion on rue Lafitte in Paris.
A pair of ormolu-mounted "boulle" (détail)
There is a "Louis XIV style piece of furniture from between the two" that the authors of the Wallace Collection catalogue compare with two other pieces of furniture described identically earlier in the inventory. A possible hypothesis would be to match these last two pieces of furniture, probably a pair, with the two pieces presented here. In particular, we note an identical decorative part as well as the same foliated mascaron at the top of the central panel, winged children, and the same profiles of bearded men.
