A LATE LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BOIS SATINE, AMARANTH, FRUITWOOD, HAREWOOD, GREEN-STAINED AND MARQUETRY SECRETAIRE A ABATTANT

BY NICOLAS PETIT, CIRCA 1770-75

Details

The rectangular shaped stepped brèche d'Alep marble top above a frieze drawer mounted with a foliate Vitruvian scroll frieze, above a fall-front lavishly inlaid with a musical trophy under a drapery canopy, revealing a fitted interior with leather-lined writing surface, various pigeon holes and small drawers, flanked by simulated fluting, above two paneled door mounted with ormolu foliate urns within inlaid encadrements, the sides each with two foliate bouquet panels above block feet mounted with foliate patera, stamped four times 'N. PETIT' and twice 'JME', with a label to the frieze drawer liner inscribed '...property of Lady Mirrieless and / brought from 4, Hyde Park Place, London, W.../ July, 1920.' and another blue bordered label numbered '121500/3976' and inscribed '1 secrètaire'
53 1/4 in. (134 cm.) high; 30 in. (76 cm.) wide; 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) deep
Provenance

Lady Donald Currie (1830-1920), 4 Hyde Park Place, London before 1920,
thence by descent to her daughter Margaret, Lady Mirrielees (1854-1925),
thence by descent until sold,
Sold By Order of the Will of the Late Major F. D. Mirrielees; Christie's London, 25 June 1959, lot 125.
Lot Essay

Of delicate proportions, the present secrétaire à abattant with its ribbon-tied musical instruments hung from tasselled drapery above mounted flowering urns is characteristic of the later oeuvre of the Nicolas Petit. The geometric parquetry work that frames the central floral motifs is exemplary of the neo-Greek style and recalls a large secrétaire sold at Christie's, New York, on May 17, 2006, lot 105, whilst the upper floral marquetry can be observed in conforming secrétaire’s sold anonymously at Christie's, London, 29 April 2010, lot 147 and illustrated in A. Droguet’s Nicolas Petit, 1732-1791, Paris, 2001, p. 92.
With a career spanning nearly 30 years, Petit was known for the diversity of his production, his à la mode fashioning adapting to contemporary trends and encapsulating the rococo stylings of the mid-17th century and later the neoclassical tastes typical of the Louis XVI period. Maître in 1761, Petit opened his workshop on Rue Faubourg-Saint-Antoine and by 1765, as confirmed in an inventory of the same year, the marchand-ébéniste had successfully established a highly prosperous trade, with eight active workbenches producing ornate and richly decorated furniture for the European elite. Indeed, Petit accumulated a clientele that comprised of the most illustrious names in society including the duc d'Orléans, the duc de Bouillon, the Princesse de Hesse and the comtesse de Schacookoy. Today Petit's work can be found at notable institutions including the Wallace Collection, London and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.