This year, during the heritage days it was possible for the second year in a row to have the opportunity to visit part of the reserves, and the restoration workshops of the national furniture.
For this 2019 edition, the chest of drawers representing "ingratitude" was on display. This chest of drawers has a very particular history:
Commissioned for the crown, it was delivered on July 13, 1789, the day before the storming of the Bastille. Its creator, the cabinetmaker Pierre François Guignard, received his master craftsmanship on January 21, 1767. After receiving payment from the royal furniture repository on July 13, he took an active part in the Revolution and particularly distinguished himself during the storming of the Bastille. However, this fate would befall him after the fall of Robespierre.
This commission can perhaps be considered GUIGNARD's masterpiece.
In the Louis XVI style, it is decorated with Chinese lacquer featuring landscapes and birds, with corner columns in the form of fasces (a revolutionary symbol and precursor of the Republic), the feet are made of copper fluting and the drapery friezes are made of bronze.
But this chest of drawers carries its bad reputation and, apart from a few exhibitions, it has never left the Mobilier National.
Image – National Furniture
Bibliography – French furniture of the 18th century by Pierre KJELLBERG
