Notes
Comparative Literature:
Monique Riccardi-Cubitt, The Art of the Cabinet, London, 1992, fig, 53.
Alexandre Pradère, French Furniture Makers, the Art of the Ebéniste from
Louis XIV to the Revolution, Tours, 1989, pp. 44-51.
Pierre Ramond, Chefs-D’Oeuvres des Marqueteurs, Vol.1, 1994,
Editions, H. Vial, p. 56 and pp. 74-79.
Th. H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Pierre Gole ébéniste de Louis XIV, Dijon,
2005, pp. 138, fig, 110, p. 140, figs 11 and 112.
Louis XIV faste et Décors Mai-Octobre,1960, Musée des Arts Décoratifs,
Palais du Louvre-Pavillon de Marsan, Pl.VI, no.57.
This impressive cabinet on stand profusely inlaid with marquetry of
exhuberant flowers represents the pinnacle of the art of naturalistic
marquetry and is typical of the work of Dutch marqueteurs working in the
17th century who disseminated their style throughout Europe such as
Pierre Gole (1620-1684) who worked for Louis XIV, Jan van Mekeren
(1658-1733) working in Amsterdam, Leonardo van de Vinne (1659-1713) in
Florence. The design of the vase of flowers on a plinth is probably
based upon engravings by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (d. 1699).
The skill of the Parisian ébénistes working in the 1680’s can be
seen well represented on this beautifully inlaid cabinet on stand which
is almost certainly by Pierre Gole due to its striking similarity to
other pieces attributed to or known to be by him. The form of the
cabinet and execution of the marquetry are very much in his style with
the fluid rinceaux and floral bouquets all depicted in exotic woods and
in this case precious metals on a dark ebony ground providing a striking
contrast executed in a virtuoso technique.
An almost identical cabinet attributed to Pierre Gole circa 1670-80, in
terms of its form, materials and marquetry, with an identical vase on
the central door and identical marquetry on the drawers and frieze
although on a caryatid stand, is illustrated by Lunsingh Scheurleer op.
cit., p. 138, fig. 110, reproduced here in fig. 1. The inside of the
illustrated cabinet has an identical vase on the inside of the door
flanked by ribbon-tied bouquets at the angles, identical scallopshell
and floral bouquet flanking the internal drawers and marquetry on the
internal drawers and sides. It is now in a Private collection but had
formerly belonged to Charles Angell of Bath, then was sold at the Palais
Galleria, Paris 6-7th December 1974, lot 42; Charles de Pauw; Marc
Lagrand, Paris; Galerie Gismondi, Paris, 1995, and finally sold
Drouot-Richelieu sale, Paris, 21st November 2008, lot 119 (305,000E).
Both cabinets are so similar in fact almost identical, they must be by
the same hand and made at the same time.
The author Lunsingh Scheurleer states in respect of the illustrated
cabinet, op. cit. that in style and decoration it is a piece executed by
Gole in around 1680. The architectural composition of the cabinet is
typical with the central door flanked on either side by flat pilasters
and a bank of drawers. There is also a plinth on the base of the cabinet
in which there are three drawers. The superb quality of the flower
marquetry is another indication it is by Gole and the way the shading
has been done with hot sand to create a three-dimensional effect and
there is the flowerhead from which there issues two leafy branches on
the front of the drawers, the scrolling acanthus, the vase with the
bouquet of flowers on the front and reverse of the central door and the
four small bouquet of flowers which are tied with a ribbon on the
angles. The use of these small bouquets by Gole can be seen in the years
around 1660 for example on the cabinet in the Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam
circa 1662; on the tops of the tables at Burghley House, dating to
around 1665 and the National Museum, Stockholm, all illustrated by the
author op. cit., in figs 69, 70, 72, 103 and 104. Furthermore, the use
of exotic woods such as amaranth, holly, walnut, bois satiné and green
tinted fruitwood are another feature of Gole's work.
Other comparable cabinets include :
- A cabinet illustrated in the catalogue of the exhibition at the Musée
des Arts décoratifs, pl. VI, no. 57, reproduced here in fig. 2,
subsequently sold Christie’s London, 7th December 2006, lot 235,
stated to be in the manner of Pierre Gole (£153,000). It is inlaid in
various woods, pewter and ivory. The vase on the central door differs
from that on the offered cabinet and it is surmounted by a demi-lune
panel inlaid with flowers which is missing on the offered cabinet. The
inside of the latter is much more beautiful with detailed marquetry
whereas the illustrated one has mainly parquetry inside and plain
veneered drawers.
-A cabinet in the manner of Pierre Gole, sold in these Rooms, the
Property of Helena Hayward Deceased, lot 67, 30th May 1997, reproduced
here in fig. 3. Reiner Baarsen of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam assisted on
the attribution to Gole of that cabinet. Although it is not on such a
grand scale as the offered piece, and the central door has a more
baluster shaped flower-filled vase, the plinth base is extremely
similar, and so is the marquetry on the drawers, although there birds on
alternate drawers on the Hayward cabinet.
-A cabinet of similar form, although inlaid in various woods and not
precious metals as on the offered cabinet, and with a vase on a plinth
of differing design on the door and similarly inlaid drawers, stated to
be possibly by Gole, was sold, from the Collection of Professor and Mrs
Clifford Ambrose Truesdell, lot 261, Christie’s, New York, 9th
June 2009, (sold $ 116,500), which was subsequently attributed to Pierre
Gole and sold lot 219, Hôtel Drouot, Salle I, Paris 17th November 2010
(245,000E).
-A cabinet although unattributed, however, very similar in form to all
the others but with the demi-lune mouldings above the central door
flanked by pilasters, with similar marquetry and on a stand composed of
female terms, was sold Sotheby’s Monaco, 30th November 1986, lot
1039.
-A cabinet with related marquetry, which was stated to be in the manner
of Pierre Gole, but not as finely executed as on the offered one, sold
Sotheby’s, New York, 27th October 1990, lot 53 ($150,000).
- A cabinet at Burghley House, Stamford, illustrated Lunsingh
Scheurleer, op. cit., p. 124, fig. 95, which had been acquired by the 5th
Earl of Exeter, together with four guéridons and a table which were en
suite, which probably date from the 1660’s. Although unlike the
offered cabinet it has inlay of ivory in the flowers and green tinted
horn.
- A cabinet sold Christie’s London, 23rd June 1988, lot 109, now
in the Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco, illustrated Lunsingh Scheurleer,
op. cit., p. 132, fig. 105.
Pierre Gole (1620-1684):
Born at Bergen, near Alkmaar, in Holland in about 1620, Pierre Gole
moved at an early age to Paris. By 1643 he was working as apprentice to
the menuisier en ébène Adrien Carbrant, whose daughter he soon married
and their marriage contract is dated 1645. The two younger Carbrant
sisters, Marguerite and Charlotte, were married respectively to Pierre
Gole's younger brother, Adrien, and to Jean Marot, Architecte des Bâtiments
du Roi, and it is possibly through this connection that Gole received
his royal patronage. From 1656, he is described in documents as maître
menuisier en ébène ordinaire du roi, but his first recorded royal
commission is for a vast cabinet to hold the king's medals and drawings
to stand in his study in the Louvre. This piece, inlaid with marquetry
of flowers and mounted in gilt-bronze, was delivered in 1661 and stood
three metres high. It cost 6,600 livres. In 1661, he also delivered
pieces for the new royal apartments at the Château de Vincennes. One of
the pieces he provided was a 'cabinet d'architecture' in marquetry of
flowers on an ebony ground. Gole's most famous royal commission was for
the 'Cabinets de la Guerre et de la Paix', which he made between 1665
and 1668, almost certainly after designs by Lebrun. These cabinets no
longer exist. Like many of the pieces that Gole made for the king and
for Cardinal Mazarin, they were probably dismantled when they were sold
off from the Royal Collection in 1741 and 1751. In 1663 and 1664, Gole
delivered a suite of furniture with floral marquetry on an ivory ground
for Versailles. It comprisd a large cabinet with its two guéridons and
their attendant tables, one with matching guéridons. The legs of the
cabinet as well as those of the tables were in the form of columns. Gole
had made a speciality of this type of marquetry in ivory in Paris.
Gole's workshop was situated on the rue de l' Arbre Sec, but it seems
probable that he also had the use of premises at the Gobelins for his
Royal commands. The famous tapestry of the visit of Louis XIV to the
Gobelins factory in 1667 shows two ébénistes, one of whom is obviously
Domenico Cucci, and the other can only be Pierre Gole, holding up a
tortoiseshell marquetry table of a type of which he supplied many for
the Royal Palaces. Gole was almost entirely subsumed in providing pieces
for the King’s principal residence at Versailles. They were mainly
tables in walnut or floral marquetry. The six tables delivered in 1679
as well as twenty-three others delivered in 1682 at the time of the King’s
move to Versailles were decorated on the top with a central motif of a
vase or bouquet of flowers on an ebony or cedar ground. Gole died in
1684, a year before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which would
almost certainly have put him out of business. The inventory of his
stock at the time of his death describes almost two-hundred pieces of
furniture, only thirteen of which are cabinets. Among the more
illustrious of his clients that are listed, the princesse de Carignan
stands out, along with the princesse de Mecklembourg, the princesse de
Bade, Louise de Savoie and Marie de Bourbon.
