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A DIPLOMATIC AND ROYAL GIFT

Friday, May 1st 2015

La Gazette internationale, par Anne Foster


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Spectacular: that's the least one can say! The gold andblack decoration, highlighted in places by mother-of pearl,parades dancers and musicians in the gardensand terraces of a Chinese palace – unless the inspirationis Japanese… And yet this cabinet was made in Paris,sometime between 1670 and 1690: the most magnificentyears of the Sun King. In 1682, Versailles becamethe seat of power and the court, and the focus of artand literature. These decades also correspond to thereign of Madame de Montespan. This cabinet's lavish decoration, meticulous detail and technical expertisesuggest that it was probably a court commission –perhaps a diplomatic gift to the sovereigns of Portugal,or a purchase by Marie-Françoise Élisabeth de Savoie,who married Alphonso VI of Portugal in 1666, nowseeking to give a little lustre to the court of Lisbon? Onething is certain: it was found in Porto early in the 21stcentury, in the residence of Jose Leite da Cunha MartinsBarbot de Azevedo Mavigne. It could very well havelanded on the banks of the Tagus in the 17th century.Some of the cabinet drawers feature animals from theVersailles menagerie, with numerous birds like pelicans,ostriches and demoiselle cranes. The sheer detail is stunning,not to mention the brilliance of the Paris lacquererwho so skilfully grasped the techniques and spirit of hisJapanese counterparts. According to Daniel Alcouffe,only Germain Massot and the Langlois, father and son,could have made such an item. Mathieu Langlois, establishedin 1666 as an "ouvrier en verny" (worker invarnish) set up shop in the Faubourg Saint-Antoineafter a time spent as a master embroiderer. Like thecabinets embellished with hardstone panels much invogue at the time, all the charm of this highly architecturedpiece lies in its ornamentation, here with an exotictouch. It is being sold at the Chateau d'Artigny by theRouillac auction house.

Anne Foster
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