A pair of Louis XVI tulipwood, rosewood and Japanese lacquer inset two-tier gueridons or torcheres 'en Athenienne' in the manner of Claude-Charles Saunier Each with boxwood stringing, the circular triple segmented tablet inlaid top mounted with a pierced arcaded gallery, inset with a circular gilt decorated lacquer panel depicting an exotic bird or cockerel, within a border interspersed by three inlaid circular tablets, on three elongated square section scrolled supports with Greek key shaped terminals, the circular undertier with corresponding inlay and mounted with a conforming gallery, terminating in a triple segmented inlaid concave tripartite plinth base, on later slender block feet, the underside of one plinth base with the remnants of an old paper label printed: '...OGGETTI D'ARTE...', approximate diameter of the top: 31cm; 104cm high (2) Footnotes: A pair of comparable 'gueridons en Athénienne', which are dated 1775-1780, as well as being stamped: 'JME SAUNIER' and authenticated as the work of Saunier, form part of the historic collection of French 18th century furniture housed at Musée Cognacq-Jay, in Paris. These are essentially the exact same design as those which comprise the offered lot, albeit the latter are of slightly higher stature and consequently marginally more slender in their outline. Arguably as a result of this, the present models are more akin to torchères than gueridons, although of course this is debatable. The museum pair of Saunier 'Athéniennes' are illustrated and feature prominently in I. Néto, Musée Cognacq-Jay, Musée du XVIIIeme Siècle de la Ville de Paris, Catalogue des Collections, Le Mobilier, 2001, Paris, fig. 39, pp.'s 102-103. It is interesting to note that the lacquer inset into the top of these related ones are of a kind typically referred to as Coromandel, whereas this does not appear to be the case with regard to those panels inlaid into the above examples. A picture entitled 'La Virtue Athenienne' by Joseph-Marie Vien (1716-1809), which was exhibited at the 1763 salon, depicts exactly the same type and format of smaller sized furniture as the offered lot, albeit within the context of a Neoclassical work. Such 'Atheniennes' had as their inspirational source the ancient Roman tripods which were discovered among the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii that were revealed over the course of the 18th century. In line with information put forward by E. Dacie, the first supposed 'Athenienne' known to have been made was in 1773, at the beginning of the Neoclassical period, Ibid, p. 102. From that time onwards this elegant model grew rapidly in popularity and became increasingly fashionable among the wealthy and aristocratic patrons who typically commissioned them. As with the Cognacq-Jay gueridons, the present models exemplify Saunier's taste for the subtle, almost rhythmic, combination of different shaped elements. The two circular tiers together with their corresponding concave tripartite base are united by elongated concave shaped and square section supports, with the latter terminating in inscrolled Greek keys. Also all of the tops to these pieces are inset with circular lacquer panels or tablets, however it should be noted that the decoration on the lacquer differs between these two versions. It is also worth noting that some examples of this 'Athenienne' form of Saunier's might well have had porcelain plaques set within them instead of lacquer. Claude-Charles trained and worked under his father at the Saunier atelier which was located on the renowned rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. But for some reason the former did not get around to officially registering his own mastership until at least 1765, from which time onwards he was effectively in charge of the workshop, even though he had actually received his mastership status in 1752. As a cabinet maker the younger Saunier developed his own unique style and seemed willing to embrace the latest ideas and fashions of the day. Consequently, this meant that his work enjoyed a rapid rise in popularity and demand among his wealthy clientele, particularly during the 1770s in France. But his reputation even spread abroad to England which during that period was a fairly rare occurrence. Over the course of his career, Saunier provided numerous pieces for the famous marchand mercier, Daguerre, although rather surprisingly he was never commissioned by Louis XVI or the Royal family to supply furniture to the court, or at least nothing is documented to suggest this ever happened. It is recorded that Saunier made a great variety of objects throughout his life, but that one of the main characteristics of much of his work is the brilliantly contrasting utilisation and manipulation of lighter and darker timbers, Ibid, p.131. 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