Lot 46: A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY BUREAU PLAT

A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY BUREAU PLAT
BY CLAUDE-CHARLES SAUNIER, CIRCA 1780
The eared rectangular and gilt-tooled black leather-lined top with moulded edge above a panelled frieze fitted with a central drawer flanked to either side by two further short drawers, each decorated with chanelled and beaded edges, the reverse with simulated drawers, the rounded angles with mille raie panels above turned tapering and brass-filled fluted legs terminating in toupie feet, stamped 'C.C.SAUNIER'
30¼ in. (77 cm.) high; 57½ in. (146 cm.) wide; 32 in. (81 cm.) deep

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTOR
(LOTS 40-81)

Claude-Charles Saunier, maître in 1752.

This bureau plat is characteristic of the oeuvre of Saunier, in its understated elegance, restrained and unadorned lines and use of finest mahogany veneers. This bureau exemplifies the understated neoclassical style adopted by the ébéniste in the late 18th Century, relying less on the use of lavish gilt-bronzes than on the elegantly-proportioned and lignes épurées of his productions. Saunier supplied a number of related pieces to the celebrated marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre, to fashionable English clients such as the Earls Spencer at Althorp, as well as to the Garde Meuble.
A closely related bureau plat by Saunier featuring similar mille-raies panels and brass-filled fluted legs was sold anonymously, Christie's, New York, 18 October 2002, lot 685 ($59,750 including premium), and a further example stamped Saunier and Roussel, was sold anonymously, Sotheby's, Zurich, 1 December 1998, lot 317.