A chest of drawers with yew marquetry

The yew marquetry characteristic of this commode is an interesting testimony to the work of cabinetmaker Philippe Pasquier, who became Master in 1760 and died in 1783. To faithfully reproduce the veining of marble, the cabinetmaker had to skillfully assemble pieces of yew veneer, which were cut irregularly but fit perfectly together. This trompe-l'oeil is all the more striking in that the veins are not interrupted by the lines of the drawers.

The original rendering of this veneer allows us to associate it with a small corpus of furniture that belonged to the most famous connoisseurs, including a drop-front secretary acquired at auction by Henry Phillips (sale n°473; this Westminster-based auction house sold works that had belonged to Marie-Antoinette and Napoleon. George IV bought a great deal from it, either on sale or directly. It still exists today.) by the Prince Regent, future George IV, on March 20, 1805. Purchased for Carlton House, it was transferred to Windsor Castle around 1827. Veneered in yew and ebony, it is also very similar to our commode in its overall structure, with fluted canted corners, a gilt bronze frieze inlaid with rosettes and crowned with laurel, and feet surrounded by a corolla of acanthus leaves and a gadrooned neck. Originally, this piece of furniture did not feature porcelain plates. These were added between 1802 and 1805. Our very similar commode may therefore have been created as a counterpart to this secretary, as was common at the time, the two pieces of furniture having been separated by the end of the 18th century.

Several other pieces of yew and ebony veneered furniture by Philippe Pasquier are also worthy of note. For example, a drop-front secretary veneered with the same wood species, later decorated with gouache panels, which is said to have been supplied to Madame du Barry, Louis XV's mistress, entered the collections of the 10th Duke of Hamilton in Scotland, then those of J. Pierpont Morgan, before joining the Kress Collection now at the Metropolitan Museum in New York (inv. 58.75.120). The prestige of its various owners testifies to the fact that this type of veneer has seduced the greatest furniture connoisseurs since the 18th century. Even in the 20th century, a Pasquier chest of drawers combining ebony veneer and yew burl was featured in Charles de Beistegui's parade room in the Palazzo Labia in Venice.

The use of such marquetry is rare, and Pasquier seems to have been one of the main cabinetmakers to have used it, alongside Richard Forster and Charles Krier. The preciousness of the material and the influence of Anglomania bring this production closer to the taste of a marchand mercier. Dominique Daguerre maybe, whose taste for magnifying glasses and brambles is well known. The fact that this work might have been sold by a marchand mercier could also explain the absence of a stamp.



Philippe Pasquier (Master in 1760, deceased in 1783)

Cabinetmaker Philippe Pasquier, Master in 1760 and deceased in 1783, is best known for his work for the Prince de Condé. After his death, his widow kept on his activity Rue des Fossoyeurs-Saint-Sulpice.

Pasquier’s production is particularly atypical. Indeed, the use of burl or burr (particularly yew) is characteristic of this cabinetmaker, who uses large panels of veneer whose design alone composes the decor. The shapes of the furniture are highly architectural, with contrasting materials that underline the originality of the decor.