COMMODE OF THE LOUIS XV PERIOD Attributed to Mathieu Criaerd In European varnish, with polychrome decoration of peonies, birds and foliage on a black background, ornamentation of chased and gilded bronze, top of Aleppo breccia marble, the front opening by two drawers without apparent crossbar, the legs arched, bearing twice an apocryphal stamp B.V.R.B on the lower edge of one of the two drawers; restorations H. 88 cm (34 ½ in.) l. 130 cm (51 ¼ in.) P. 64 cm (25 ¼ in.) Provenance: Sale Beaux Arts Brussels, December 11-13, 1979, lot 684 ; Sale Sotheby's London, June 14, 1996, lot 25. A Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted and japanned commode, attributed to Mathieu Criaerd, bearing a spurious stamp by Bernard Van Risen-Burgh The European varnish panels of our piece show great similarities with those on two chests of drawers related to the work of BVRB II, which are in the collections of the Munich Residence (1). However, the general aspect of our chest of drawers can be compared stylistically more with the work of Mathieu Criaerd, master in 1738; among comparable chests of drawers belonging to the corpus of this famous cabinetmaker let us recall: a chest of drawers sold in Paris, Mes Ader-Picard-Tajan, on November 28, 1972, n°151, another one passed at Sotheby's, Monaco, on February 21, 1988, a third one, still at Sotheby's, New York, on November 29, 1993, n°53, a fourth one passed at Christie's, London, on December 9, 2004, n°200, then at Christie's, London, on July 7, 2022, n°20, which bears the punch with the crowned "C" on its bronzes etc. Finally, another chest of drawers from the same group, whose bronzes also bear the same crowned C mark, was sold at Christie's in London on June 11, 1992, n°157, while the most accomplished example of the series is kept by the Louvre Museum (2). As Alexandre Pradère (3) remarked, "on the commodes in imitation of Chinese lacquer, the gilded motifs and the peonies are the same, which proves that they were made by the same hand, perhaps that of the Martin brothers". The use of the same type of Paris varnish with very similar decoration on chests of drawers by BVRB II, Criaerd but also by Adrien Faizelot Delorme (1722-1791), master in 1748, such as a chest of drawers by the latter craftsman that was sold at Christie's, Monaco, June 21, 1998, n°605, then at Sotheby's, London, May 21, 2019, n°195, orders from the same merchant who was at the origin of the manufacture of these pieces by the various cabinetmakers who worked for him. We can advance the name of Thomas-Joachim Hébert (1687-1773), one of the most important Parisian merchants, who had made a specialty during the 1730s in the manufacture of lacquer furniture. He worked with BVRB II, who executed for him the famous lacquer commode delivered in 1737 for Queen Marie Leczinska in Fontainebleau, now in the Louvre (4), and who had ordered from Criaerd various pieces covered in China varnish or Martin varnish for the Court, including the famous blue and white lacquer commode for the bedroom of Miss de Mailly, mistress of Louis XV, in the castle of Choisy (5). (1) B. Langer, Die Möbel der Residenz München, vol. I, Die Französischen Möbel des 18. Jahrhunderts, Munich, 1995, p.98-102, cat. nos. 16-17. (2) Inv. OA 10456, see Daniel Alcouffe et all, Le mobilier du musée du Louvre, t. I, Dijon, Faton, 1993, p. 152, cat. no. 46. (3) Alexandre Pradère, Les ébénistes français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, 1898, Tours, éds. du Chêne, p. 222. (4) Inv. OA 11193. (5) Inv. OA 11292, see Daniel Alcouffe et al, Le mobilier du musée du Louvre, t. I, Dijon, Faton, 1993, cat. n°43