Beschreibung:

A PAIR OF LOUIS XIV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BOULLE MARQUETRY COFFRES EN TOMBEAU (COFFERS-ON-STANDS)
BY ANDRE-CHARLES BOULLE, CIRCA 1688
A PAIR OF LOUIS XIV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BOULLE MARQUETRY COFFRES EN TOMBEAU (COFFERS-ON-STANDS) BY ANDRE-CHARLES BOULLE, CIRCA 1688 Inlaid overall in brass, pewter and tortoiseshell in première and contre-partie marquetry, the coffers of sarcophagus form, each with domed top fitted with flat-topped concave-sided upper lid, bordered with overlapping berried laurel foliage enclosing a well with concave sides, edged with stylised acanthus, the main convex-sided lid enclosing a deeper well, originally lined with leather and later with red material-covered boards, mounted with cartouche angles centred by swagged female masks, the sarcophagus body with concave upper border inlaid with fleur-de-lys framed by scrolls and trailing flower heads with fan-shaped foliate angles and lockplate, the bombé body mounted with acanthus angles and lobed tripartite plaques cast with trailing foliage on punched ground centred by female masks framed by their plaited hair and encircled by swags, the contre-partie fitted with Louis XVI handles at the front and sides, inlaid with interlaced scrolling foliage, the lower border cast with lobed lappets framing cabochons, the stands each with rectangular top bordered with guilloche, the frieze fitted with a central drawer mounted with channelled borders and centred by acanthus-edged cartouche, the back with a central panel framed by shaped panels, on scrolled supports headed by female masks emerging from acanthus scrolls, inlaid with overlapping foliate discs and joined by an x-shaped stretcher, the Louis XIV stand centred by an associated late eighteenth century urn, the première-partie stand replaced in the late 19th century, the contre-partie coffer stamped on the back 'E.LEVASSEUR' and 'JME' 54½ in. (139 cm.) high; 36 in. (92 cm.) wide; 26¼ in. (67 cm.) deep (2)