IMPORTANT COMMODE INLAID LOUIS XVI MODEL OF RIESENER (1734-1806) With central projection and curved sides, opening in front of two large drawers without crossbar and three drawers in the belt. Mounts with cut sides. In marquetry of wood veneer with rhombuses and flowers and a central composition with fruits and a flowery vase. Very high quality of chasing and gilding. Rich ornamentation in gilded bronze composed of framing nets, plant friezes and hooves. Purplish marble top. 19th century period H : 91 x W : 171 x D : 63 cm Restorations of use and maintenance Jean-Henri Riesener, French cabinetmaker of German origin (born in 1734 in Gladbeck, Westphalia, and died in Paris in 1806). He was awarded the title of Master in 1768, and in 1774 he was appointed "ordinary cabinetmaker to the king". From 1769 to 1784, he supplied the court and the royal family - in particular Queen Marie-Antoinette of Austria - with sumptuous furniture in the neo-classical style. He is considered one of the best representatives of the Transitional style and in 1769 he completed the famous Louis XV cylinder secretary, or "King's desk", begun by Oeben nine years earlier. This chest of drawers is of a similar model to the "Concordat" chest of drawers made for Louis XVI. This remarkable piece escaped the throes of the Revolution and was reinstated in the furniture of the Château de Fontainebleau in 1804 to furnish the room of Pope Pius VII, who was staying there on the occasion of Napoleon's coronation.