Restoration of a Transition-style commode stamped by the master cabinetmaker Leonard Boudin (1735 in Paris – 20/12/1807). It is constructed of solid oak and veneered with amaranth, rosewood, tobacco-stained maple, and marquetry of boxwood, hornbeam, and holly, decorated with panels featuring floral vases and covered pots on the front and sides. With a slight central projection on the front, opening to reveal two drawers without a crossbar, its rounded uprights rest on cabriole legs.
Many transitional commodes of this type were made by Boudin; they all share the same shape, but the decoration varies. One can note the bronze mounts, still very much in the Louis XV style, while the feet are straightened and lose their crowbar-like feet, and the keyhole escutcheons and handles are typically Louis XVI.
Leonard Boudin
Born in 1735 in Paris, into a very modest family, he began his career as a simple laborer. He was quickly employed by Pierre Migeon (a renowned cabinetmaker and merchant). Having obtained his master craftsman's certificate on March 4, 1761, he set up his workshop on Rue Traversière and continued to work for Migeon and other cabinetmakers. Then, from 1770 onward, he received commissions from numerous renowned merchants, such as Louis. Then, from 1770 onwards, he received commissions from numerous renowned merchants, such as Louis Moreau and Gerard Peridiez, and quickly acquired a great reputation for his varied and exquisitely crafted marquetry. In 1772, while still maintaining his workshop, he opened a retail store on rue Fromenteau, which he moved in 1777 to the cloister of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois.
Advertisement by Léonard Boudin – December 1777 – in «"The Journal of Small Posters"»
- Mr. Boudin, cabinetmaker and upholsterer of the cloister of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, of a very well-stocked store of furniture of all kinds in the new style, chests of drawers, secretaries and other works of cabinetmaking, fires, arms and clocks gilded with ground gold, clocks with bases of white marble, mirrors, chandeliers and works of China, in vessel and castles of mother-of-pearl.
Faced with a surge in orders, he in turn enlisted the help of other cabinetmakers (including Topino, Evalde, and Denizot) and became one of the leading dealers in Paris. Gradually, Boudin abandoned his own production, offering his clients only the works of his colleagues, hence the double stamp found on numerous pieces (Tuart, Letellier, Dubois, Gilbert, Vié, Topino, Cordié, Birklé, Macret, Latz, Chevallier, Evalde, Fléchy, Péridiez). However, furniture bearing only Boudin's stamp has also been observed, though these pieces were not made by Léonard himself, but rather by his colleagues.
Salverte describes Boudin as "greedy for gain" and cites several steps taken by the cabinetmaker to force some of his colleagues to repay debts that were sometimes minimal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- French Furniture of the 18th Century – Pierre Kjellberg – Les Editions de l'Amateur – 2002
- Cabinetmakers of the 18th Century – Count François de Salverte – Art and History Publishers – 1923
- The stamp "The Art Object" – Patricia Lemonnier – Faton – June 1989
- The Essence of Wood – A Macroscopic Identification Manual for Woods Used in French Furniture – 16th-20th Centuries – Hardcover – Patrick Georges – Emmanuel Maurin – Marie-Christine Trouy-Jacquemet – Dominique Bouchardon – Editions du Patrimoine – 2020
