Restoration of a Michel Mallerot-stamped commode. With its serpentine front, it is entirely veneered with violet wood. Its frame is made of fir. As for the drawers, their sides are made of beech and their bottoms of walnut.
You don't know Michel Mallerot?
That's normal! Indeed, Michel Mallerot (1675-1753) remains little known, like many Parisian cabinetmakers of the early 18th century. He was identified thanks to a pencil inscription, "M. Mallerot," on a Regency commode bearing this abbreviated stamp (formerly in the Philippe Glédel collection). The Count of Salverte likely mentions him for the first time in the 1927 edition of 18th-Century Cabinetmakers: Their Works and Their Marks. Then, Pierre Verlet quotes him in the second edition of French Furniture of the 18th Century, published in 1982.
The first stamps
It is worth remembering that cabinetmakers were only required to stamp their work after the statutes of 1743, and subsequently the edict of 1751. Furthermore, the great cabinetmakers often worked for haberdashers or the Crown. In these two cases, however, they were not required to stamp their work.
Thus, Mallerot was one of the first to use stamps, along with Sageot, Gaudreaux, Doirat, Lieutaud, Garnier, and a few others. As was often the case with these early brands, he used only his initials, in large letters.
These abbreviated stamps make attributions more difficult. For example, Mallerot can be compared to François Lieutaud (FL) or François Garnier (FG). All were born at the end of the 17th century, worked before the use of stamps, and were only recently discovered.
A workshop near the Bastille
Mallerot's workshop was therefore located a stone's throw from the old Saint-Antoine gate, near the Bastille. Here we can see the fortifications, the Rue de Lappe, and the Contrescarpe (now the Boulevard de la Bastille). We can also glimpse the former "Arquebus firing range," where the arquebusiers of Paris trained.
A little research allowed me to learn a bit more. First, his address: "« Rue de la Roquette, on the left, between the Arquebuse site and the Voierie »He married a certain Marie Mellot and had children; there is also evidence of a son who was a carpenter or cabinetmaker.
But the most interesting is a document from 1714. It concerns "an agreement between the said [name] and Nicolas Cibot, for a contract of two and a half years, recorded on 16/5/1714" (National Archives, Central Register of Paris Notaries, File of 18th-Century CraftsmenWe thus learn that the cabinetmaker employed a journeyman at that time. Consequently, Mallerot was certainly already a master cabinetmaker in 1714, if not before.
Further traces of him can be found in 1740. He is first mentioned in connection with a "withdrawal of complaints and amicable settlement" with Jean Réveillat, a coppersmith. The same year, he appears in connection with "a house extension." Finally, a document dated February 15, 1756, mentions the sale of a house "by the aforementioned," for 6,000 livres, to Gaston Poupon, a stationer.
To see previous restorations : https://ebenisterie-mathieuvath.fr/en-ce-moment-a-latelier/
You can find this chest of drawers at Antiques Philippe Glédel
Well, there it was, exactly the stamp I was looking for! It's amazing that a second piece of furniture from this same, relatively unknown cabinetmaker has come back through the workshop!