Attributed to Renaud GAUDRON (active c. 1653–1727), - Lot 447

Attributed to Renaud GAUDRON (active c. 1653–1727), An exceptional “Mazarin”-style desk made of veneered wood and marquetry featuring stained precious woods on an ebony background. It features a rich decoration of foliage scrolls, blooming roses, and vases filled with flowers. The top, with alternating panels framed by light-wood borders, is centered by a medallion marked “BJ,” flanked by rampant lions surrounded by “à la Bérain” ornamentation featuring volutes, interlacing patterns, fantastic animals, and winged women against a polychrome floral background. It opens to reveal four arched drawers in two rows and one waist drawer framing a hinged cabinet. The eight slender legs, featuring capitals and four inlaid sides, are connected by curved “X”-shaped crossbars, each centered with a turned and gilded wooden spindle. Louis XIV period, circa 1680–1690. Height: 79 cm Length: 108 cm Depth: 64 cm Slight warping; one of the three keys is missing. Bibliography: C. Demetrescu, “Les Gaudron, ébénistes du temps de Louis XIV,” Bulletin de la Société de l’Histoire de l’Art Français, 2000, pp. 33–61. C. Demetrescu, Les ébénistes de la Couronne sous le règne de Louis XIV, Lausanne, 2021. Note: With its abundant floral marquetry on an ebony background, its flowered vases, leafy scrollwork, and eight-legged base, this desk is part of the characteristic repertoire of Renaud Gaudron, one of the principal cabinetmakers supplying the Garde-meuble de la Couronne under Louis XIV. The decoration and structure bear similarities to the desks delivered by Gaudron in 1688 for Madame de Maintenon’s apartments at Versailles, described in the Journal du Garde-meuble as desks in floral marquetry made of imported woods, resting on eight legs. The combination of particularly abundant floral marquetry and a rich botanical repertoire thus supports an attribution to Renaud Gaudron’s workshop.