123 - Etienne DOIRAT (Paris, c. 1675–1732), attributed to

Etienne DOIRAT (Paris, c. 1675–1732), attributed to TOMB-STYLE CHEST OF DRAWERS Curved in shape, made of violetwood veneer, with rich decoration featuring butterfly wings, circular motifs, and arrowheads. It features four drawers in three rows, separated by crossbars. The top is also veneered. It rests on a flared base. Regency period Rich ornamentation in gilded chiseled bronze, including leaf-motif drawer pulls, a shell on the apron, foliage on the legs, lock plates, corner finials, and a ingot mold. H 85; W 133; Depth 66 cm (Restorations) Note. A renowned cabinetmaker based on the Grande Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Étienne Doirat (c. 1675–1732) was one of the most influential and prosperous craftsmen of his time. He distinguished himself through his mastery of precious wood veneers—foremost among them violetwood—and through a trait remarkable for an early 18th-century cabinetmaker: the fact that he owned his own designs and bronze molds. This style of furniture would later greatly inspire Étienne Doirat’s son-in-law, the cabinetmaker Louis-Simon Painsun. Ref. . SGL Auctions, December 2, 2018, lot 236 . Aguttes in Neuilly, June 16, 2003, lot 164 . Two models of chests of drawers featuring a more ornate front but similar bronze fittings have been attributed, based on stylistic criteria, to the work of the cabinetmaker Etienne Doirat. One, a pair, was sold by Sotheby’s in Paris on June 18, 2002, lot 52; the other was also sold by Sotheby’s in Monaco on May 26 and 27, 1980, lot 637. Bibliography. J.D. Augarde, “Etienne Doirat, Ebony Cabinetmaker,” J.P. Getty Museum Journal, vol. 13, 1985, p. 49