Greek-style chest of drawers in mottled mahogany, the projec - Lot 62

Greek-style chest of drawers in mottled mahogany, the projecting front opens to reveal a writing drawer, two small drawers, and two doors; the top is of violet breccia marble with double molding, resting on rounded legs (originally decorated with scrolls) ending in curved feet; (some restoration; the five-lock hardware replaced at a later date). Attributed to Jean-François Oeben Louis XV period, circa 1760–1765 H.: 81.5 cm, W.: 134 cm, D.: 54 cm Bibliography: J. Cordey, Inventaire des biens de Madame de Pompadour, Paris, 1939. A. Pradère, Madame de Pompadour et le goût grec, Connaissance des arts, December 1989, no. 454, pp. 106–109. The term “Greek-style chest of drawers” refers to a typology defined by Alexandre Pradère (op. cit.), and refers to a very specific model of chest of drawers with a central projection framed by panels, designed by Jean-François Oeben, whose distinctive feature lies in an elaborate locking system with a single lock controlling all the drawers and panels of the front. A brief description appears in 1763 in the posthumous inventory of Jean-François Oeben, who was undoubtedly Madame de Pompadour’s official cabinetmaker, "Item, two solid mahogany chest of drawers, (...) each fitted with three drawers, in the middle two small doors on the side, valued together at 220 livres." The chest of drawers presented here is a variation on the Greek-style chest of drawers, differing in function while retaining an exterior appearance identical to the standard model. The top row of drawers, which usually opens in three sections, is here replaced by a single drawer containing a shelf that serves as a writing desk. The first examples of this chest of drawers model, invented by Jean-François Oeben and entirely new in the early 1760s, are most likely those delivered to the Marquise de Pompadour at the Château de Ménars. The inventory taken after Madame de Pompadour’s death reveals that she owned seventeen “Greek-style” chests of drawers at Ménars, twelve of which were made of mahogany and valued between 180, 200, and 240 livres. Madame de Pompadour acquired Ménars in June 1760 and undertook extensive renovation and furnishing work in a decidedly “modern” style. It was during this period that she paid Jean-François Oeben 17,400 livres “as a down payment on furniture to be supplied for her various residences” and that he purchased “thirty-four planks of mahogany (...) by order and on behalf of the said Marquise de Pompadour to be used to make furniture for the various residences of the said lady." Upon the Marquise’s death, Ménars and its contents passed to her brother, the Marquis de Marigny, who continued the work he had begun. Unlike what he did for the other residences, he kept Ménars virtually intact, likely due to the modernity of its furnishings. It is interesting to compare this chest of drawers with the one from the former Karl Lagerfeld collection sold at Christie’s in Monaco on April 28, 2000, lot 78, described as likely originating from the apartments of the Château de Ménars, owned by Madame de Pompadour. Among the various chests of drawers listed, it is particularly worth noting the one sold at Sotheby’s in Paris on November 10, 2009, lot 81, the one from the former Safra collection, another sold at Christie’s Paris on November 30, 2016, lot 5, the one sold at Sotheby’s Paris on April 11, 2018, lot 142, as well as the two chests of drawers sold at Bonhams in Paris on April 22, 2026, lot 34. To these chests of drawers should be added the one presented in the exhibition at Versailles (18th Century: The Origins of Design, exhibition catalog, 2014, no. 52, p. 188) belonging to a private collection.