A FINE FRENCH LOUIS XV KINGWOOD AND ORMOLU MOUNTED SERPENTINE BOMBE COMMODE ATTRIBUTED TO GILLES JOUBERT (FRENCH 1689-1775), C.1755-60 the rouge griotte marble top with a moulded edge, above parquetry trellis panels and scrolling Rococo mounts, fitted with two drawers, on cabriole legs terminating in lion's paw feet, with alterations 90.7cm high, 125cm wide, 53.4cm deep Provenance Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918) the Bamfylde Room, Halton House, Buckinghamshire Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942) Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009) The Trustees of Exbury House Literature Rothschild Archive, London, Manuscript: 000/174/C/3, Christie, Manson & Woods Probate Valuation of 'The Estate of Alfred C. de Rothschild, Esq. C.V.O. Deceased, Halton House Tring'. 1918. Listed as 'A Louis XV parqueterie commode with two drawers inlaid with panels of trellis and cube pattern, in kingwood borders mounted with ormolu borders and corners chased with scroll work entwined with branches of flowers and with lion's claw feet, surmounted by a veined red marble slab, £2,500.0.0.' Catalogue Note Gilles Joubert (French 1689-1775) was born in Paris to a family of joiners. He was apprenticed at the age of thirteen to a marqueteur and went on to marry Michelle Collet in 1714, the daughter of Edmond Collet, an ebeniste of the Faubourg and also a cousin of Pierre II Mignon who was a favoured cabinet maker of Madame Pompadour. Joubert began supplying furniture to the Garde-Meuble Royal in 1748 and his deliveries to the court became more significant after 1751 when Gaudreaus the Younger ceased to work for the Crown. From this time on Joubert was the principal supplier of furniture for the Royal court and remained so for nearly twenty-three years. To satisfy the high demand from the Crown, Joubert often sub-contracted work to his fellow ebenistes, including Antoine-Mathieu Criaerd, Leonard Boudin and especially Roger Vandercruse. Joubert's work is difficult to identify, as stamping was not mandatory in his early career there are only a dozen or so items with his signature. Once he became ebeniste de la Couronne in 1763, he was free from guild regulations and no longer had to sign his work. As a result, Joubert's work cannot be studied before his first deliveries to the Garde-Meuble Royal in 1748 when he was already nearly sixty. Nothing is known of his production before this date. Joubert's design can be characterised by a restrained Rococo style, with scrolling ormolu mounts in a symmetrical pattern, the marquetry in a geometrical arrangement of lozenges, often tulipwood veneers framed by strips of kingwood. 'The same cartouche is found on the front of several of his commodes, as well as the lacqueur ones made by Marchand for the Queen's Bedchamber at Fontaineblau in 1755 and those produced in the previous year by Criaerd for the Pavilion at La Muette. The corner mounts of these pieces often have large symmetrical motifs, often a pierced bouquet of flowers.' (French Furniture Makers p.212) Joubert retired in 1774 aged 85 and was succeeded in the post of 'ebeniste du Roi' by Riesener. Joubert died in 1775. The attribution to Joubert is based on a recently discovered Royal commode by Joubert now in the collection of the Chateau de Fontainebleau which has almost identical front mounts to our commode. It was originally made for the Louis XV's bedchamber at the Chateau de Fontainebleau and it was installed by Joubert in 1754. Declared a national treasure, it was acquired for the nation at the price of EUR 1,000,000. Literature Alexandre Pradere, French Furniture Makers, The Art of the Ebeniste from Louis XIV to the Revolution, pp.208-215.