Cabinet, 1775.
The technique of marquetry was imported to France in the early 17th century from the Dutch. In Paris, makers of marqueted furniture belonged to their own guild, the "ébénistes", separate from all other furniture craftsmen.
The most notable "ébéniste" was Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806). Born in Germany, he apprenticed under Jean-François Oeben and formally became "ébéniste ordinaire du roi" (ébéniste to the King of France) in July of 1774.
Riesener's most famous piece is the "Bureau du Roi" (the King's desk), a richly ornamented roll-top secretary begun under Louis XV and completed under Louis XVI. The desk features intricate marquetry and ormolu plaques, statuettes and scrolls.
The Bureau du Roi, 1769.
Detail of marquetry on the Bureau du Roi.
Riesener was also celebrated for creating mechanical fittings which allowed desk and table tops to be raised or lowered by a singled button.
Mechanical table, 1778.
A mechanical table, commissioned by Queen Marie Antoinette, features exquisite latticework marquetry enclosing a series of sunflowers. At each side is an ormolu plaque, decorated with rose and laurel branches, which hides a mechanism used to raise or lower the table top.
Detail of marquetry on mechanical table.
Secretary, 1783.
Bronze mounts attributed to Pierre Gouthière
After the French Revolution, Riesener was retained by the Directory and sent to Versailles to remove the "insignia of feudality" from furniture he had recently made. Royal symbols, such as the fleurs-de-lys, were replaced with plain panels.
Riesener always believed the monarchy would be reinstated and, to that end, he spent his remaining fortune buying back many of his own commissioned pieces. However, when he tried to resell these pieces he found tastes had changed and many of his patrons were either dead or had moved from the country.
Riesener died in Paris in 1806, in relative poverty and obscurity.
His work, however, lives on in many of the world's greatest museums where onlookers continue to marvel at his beautiful creations.
Drop-front secretaire, 1783.
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