HENRI AUGUSTE FOURDINOIS (1830-1907)
Exceptional, high-quality Neo-Renaissance dining room by the famous
cabinetmaker "Henri Auguste Fourdinois" (1830-1907), carved oak and walnut
and carved walnut including :
1) Exceptional multi-part display cabinet opening with
two doors at the top with two drawers underneath, the whole surrounded
by two detached columns on either side and two other pairs of
columns.
The two doors feature the French royal couple of the Second Empire in Renaissance costume.
Empire in Renaissance costume, the Spanish Countess de Teba Eugénie de
Montijo and Charles Louis Napoléon III, Emperor of France from 1851 to
1870.
Two "fous du roi", emblematic of the comic characters of the
Neo-Renaissance period support the upper part, which rests on a tray
(Two small fingertips missing from the left one).
on the left)
It opens with two large lower panels decorated with interlacing, puttos and
puttos and carved birds, with gilded patinated bronze
bronze escutcheons.
Two drawers in the waistband with draw handles in bronze with a bronze gilding patina.
Flat sides decorated with frames and scrolls.
Dimensions: H: 244; W: 150; D: 61 cm
2) A sideboard with two large leaves at the top, decorated with
decorated with interlacing, and receive bronze lock escutcheons.
bronze escutcheons.
Two drawers in the waistband with gilded patinated bronze pull handles.
Open reserve at bottom.
Flat sides decorated with frames.
Top decorated with geometric checkerboard pattern.
Dimensions: H: 101; W: 130; D: 61 cm
3) A large rectangular dining-room table with eight legs
four in the center connected by an X-shaped crotch when folded.
when the table is folded.
Decorated with eight character heads on the belt.
Top with geometric checkerboard pattern.
No extensions supplied.
Dimensions: H: 78; W: 140; D: 105 cm
4) Six carved walnut chairs in the Neo-Renaissance style
Neo-Renaissance style, decorated with openwork columns, seat and back
upholstered in tobacco-colored leather with interlacing decoration.
Dimensions: H: 100; W: 47; D: 50 cm
Provenance: Purchased at the 1878 World's Fair in Paris
and remained in the Luxembourg family for three generations.
Period: 19th century
Restoration for use and maintenance.
Biography
Maison Fourdinois was founded in 1835 by Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois
(1799-1871). The 1851 World's Fair in London was undoubtedly
their first great artistic and public success. Winning the
the Grand Medal for a neo-Renaissance sideboard triggered a competitive
competition with other cabinetmakers, as the press was unanimous in hailing their
their success. His son Henri-Auguste (1830-1907), trained as a draughtsman
the architect Duban, the London silversmith Morel, before working with the
bronzier Paillard, went into partnership with him in 1860. His
qualities as a draughtsman were recognized at the
in London in 1862, where the jury awarded him two medals for "Excellence in
Composition and Execution". In addition to commissions for the
for the Mobilier de la Couronne, he also produced high-quality furniture
for the Parisian haute bourgeoisie. The period 1862-1880
truly marked the apogee of the Fourdinois firm.
French, English and American cabinetmakers,
the example to follow, if not to dethrone.
Museology
- Monumental door inlaid and decorated with enamel painted on copper
presented at the 1878 World's Fair, now in the Musée d'Orsay
d'Orsay, Paris (Inv. DO 1980 1).
- Two-body walnut cabinet inlaid with blood jasper, lapis lazuli
lapis lazuli, ivory and silver, in the Musée des Arts
Décoratifs, Paris (Inv. 29921).
- Furnishings for the bedroom in the Papal Apartment at the Château de Fontainebleau
Château de Fontainebleau, preserved in situ.
- Psyché from Empress Eugenie's bathroom at the Palais de
Saint-Cloud, preserved at Château de Compiègne.
Bibliography
- Sources et modèles d'un ébéniste au XIXe siècle: l'exemple d'Henri
Fourdinois (1830-1907)", Olivier Gabet, in Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français
l'Histoire de l'Art Français, Paris, 2003, p. 261-278.
- Marqueteries virtuoses au XIXe siècle, brevets d'invention, Marc
Maison and Emmanuelle Arnould, Paris, 2012, pp. 12-14 and 48-59.
- Sketches and commissions, Henri-Auguste Fourdinois, Fourdinois Rue Amelot
Paris, 1855-1865.
- Nouveau recueil d'ameublement: meubles, sièges, lits, tentures,
tapestries, etc., Henri-Auguste Fourdinois, Librairies Imprimeries
Réunies, 1890, Vol. I.
Estim. 40,000 - 60,000 EUR
