Corner Cabinet
- Date
- 1785
- made in
- Paris, Île-de-France region, France, Europe
- Classification
- Furniture
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 36 13/16 x 35 1/4 x 22 1/16 in. (93.5 x 89.5 x 56 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 117:1945
NOTES
Constructed of oak with beautiful mahogany veneers, this cabinet's principal ornaments are the richly modeled gilded brass mounts that trim its front. These include both naturalistic flowers and foliage and conventionalized moldings that articulate the cabinet's elements. Jean-Henri Riesener preferred to design his own ornaments rather than rely on those supplied by other craftsmen. German by birth, Riesener is considered the best cabinetmaker working in late-eighteenth-century France. His superb design and unsurpassed workmanship helped to secure the patronage of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. This is one of four identical corner cabinets made for the salon of the Maison de la Reine of the Hameau, the Queen's farm at Versailles.
Provenance
c.1785 - c.1792
King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, Versailles, France, commissioned from Jean-Henri Riesener
1793
Sold at sale of royal furnishings in Paris, France [1]
- 1945
Private Collection, England
1945
A. & R. Ball (Alexander and Richard Ball), New York, NY, USA, purchased from private collection, England [2]
1945 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from A. & R. Ball [3]
Notes:
This cabinet is one of four corner cabinets commissioned by the French king, Louis XVI, for the Maison de la Riene, Le Petit Trianon, at Versailles, for his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. This private retreat for the queen included a small residence call Le Hameau, for which the cabinets were designed; it was completed in 1785 [Scheidelmantel, Vivian J. "A Corner Cupboard by Jean-Henri Riesener," in "Greater Chicago Antiques Show and Sale," March 27-28, 1963, p. 44-46]. All four of the corner cabinets are marked "GARDE MEUBLE DE LA RIENE" and "CT" for Chateau Trianon. One of the cabinets is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (accession number 1945.185).
[1] Many of the furnishings and possessions of the French royal family, including at least two of the four corner cabinets, were dispersed at the end of the French Revolution; the sales of the royal collection are referred to by Scheidelmantel [see general note, p. 46]. Hans Huth, working with Meyric Rogers, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, suggested this line of provenance for the suite of cabinets, based in part on his examination of two of the four corner cabinets found in Germany in 1930. These examples bore a label of the royal sales, as well as the stamps identifying them as part of the household of the French queen [see general note and Huth, Hans. "Französische Möbel in Deutschland," in "Pantheon," (December 1930) 555-559; 96-97].
Correspondence between Meyric Rogers, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, and Thomas Hoopes, Saint Louis Art Museum curator, refers to speculation that the four cabinets were purchased by an English collector at one of the 1793 sales of the French royal collection [letter from Meyric Rogers to Thomas Hoopes, dated December 21, 1946, SLAM document files].
[2] The firm A. & R. Ball purchased two corner cabinets (the Museum's 117:1945, and the Art Institute of Chicago's, acc. no. 1945.185) in England in 1945 [letter from Meyric Rogers to Charles Nagel, Saint Louis Art Museum director, dated June 4, 1945; letter from A. & R. Ball to Charles Nagel, July 26, 1945, SLAM document files].
[3] A. & R. Ball was unwilling to "split the pair," prompting Meyric Rogers to suggested to Charles Nagel that each museum purchase one of the pair, an arrangement that allowed both institutions to acquire a single cabinet [Rogers, June 4, 1945]. Each institution dealt directly with A. & R. Ball once this arrangemment was made. Invoice dated July 26, 1945 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, October 4, 1945.
King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, Versailles, France, commissioned from Jean-Henri Riesener
1793
Sold at sale of royal furnishings in Paris, France [1]
- 1945
Private Collection, England
1945
A. & R. Ball (Alexander and Richard Ball), New York, NY, USA, purchased from private collection, England [2]
1945 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from A. & R. Ball [3]
Notes:
This cabinet is one of four corner cabinets commissioned by the French king, Louis XVI, for the Maison de la Riene, Le Petit Trianon, at Versailles, for his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. This private retreat for the queen included a small residence call Le Hameau, for which the cabinets were designed; it was completed in 1785 [Scheidelmantel, Vivian J. "A Corner Cupboard by Jean-Henri Riesener," in "Greater Chicago Antiques Show and Sale," March 27-28, 1963, p. 44-46]. All four of the corner cabinets are marked "GARDE MEUBLE DE LA RIENE" and "CT" for Chateau Trianon. One of the cabinets is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (accession number 1945.185).
[1] Many of the furnishings and possessions of the French royal family, including at least two of the four corner cabinets, were dispersed at the end of the French Revolution; the sales of the royal collection are referred to by Scheidelmantel [see general note, p. 46]. Hans Huth, working with Meyric Rogers, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, suggested this line of provenance for the suite of cabinets, based in part on his examination of two of the four corner cabinets found in Germany in 1930. These examples bore a label of the royal sales, as well as the stamps identifying them as part of the household of the French queen [see general note and Huth, Hans. "Französische Möbel in Deutschland," in "Pantheon," (December 1930) 555-559; 96-97].
Correspondence between Meyric Rogers, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, and Thomas Hoopes, Saint Louis Art Museum curator, refers to speculation that the four cabinets were purchased by an English collector at one of the 1793 sales of the French royal collection [letter from Meyric Rogers to Thomas Hoopes, dated December 21, 1946, SLAM document files].
[2] The firm A. & R. Ball purchased two corner cabinets (the Museum's 117:1945, and the Art Institute of Chicago's, acc. no. 1945.185) in England in 1945 [letter from Meyric Rogers to Charles Nagel, Saint Louis Art Museum director, dated June 4, 1945; letter from A. & R. Ball to Charles Nagel, July 26, 1945, SLAM document files].
[3] A. & R. Ball was unwilling to "split the pair," prompting Meyric Rogers to suggested to Charles Nagel that each museum purchase one of the pair, an arrangement that allowed both institutions to acquire a single cabinet [Rogers, June 4, 1945]. Each institution dealt directly with A. & R. Ball once this arrangemment was made. Invoice dated July 26, 1945 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, October 4, 1945.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.