Minor maintenance restoration for this bonheur du jour Transition desk in rosewood veneer stamped by the master of this type of desk, Guillaume Cordié.
A simple maintenance restoration for this desk. Re-gluing of a few veneer patches, repair of oxidation, color restoration, and reapplication of the varnish using a French polish.
Guillaume Cordié
Born around 17331, Guillaume Cordié worked as a freelance craftsman before receiving his master's certificate on June 18, 1766. He established himself on the rue de Charonne and remained there until his death. His works, of fine quality and harmonious proportions, are mostly in the Transition and Louis XVI styles. It seems he worked extensively for haberdashers and fellow cabinetmakers such as Migeon and Boudin.
He is the designer of a desk with a tiered seat, part of the Mobilier National collection, which demonstrates a real talent for interior design. His small "kidney-shaped" table, from the former Clermont-Tonnerre collection, is not of a commonplace design. Even more original is the reading table that stood next to a charming lady's desk in the former Blanchette collection. Mounted on two carved legs, placed opposite each other beneath its ellipsoidal top, surrounded by a gallery, it featured two cavities covered by a shutter. The ingenious creator of this small The furniture is certainly in good standing among his peers, because a beautiful lady's secretary which was part of the Clermont-Tonnerre collection and of which a replica appeared in the Mirecourt collection, bore jointly, with the stamp of Guillaume Cordié, that of Léonard Boudin.
After falling ill, he died on November 26, 1786, at the age of 53. His widow, Marie-Madeleine Courtois, kept the same workshop until the Revolution. She then retired from business and spent her final days on the Quai des Célestins, on June 17, 1800, in her seventieth year.
The Master of Happy Days
Cordié can thus be considered the "Master" of bonheur-du-jour tables, or "stepped tables," as they are called in his inventory. It would seem that he adopted a formula entirely his own, which spanned about fifteen years, until around 1780. These bonheur-du-jour tables are all similar, measuring approximately 1 meter high by 0.65 meters long and 0.45 meters deep. They are veneered with rosewood frieze, separated by a boxwood border from a frame of violet, rose, or amaranth wood. The table has two parts: the upper part consists of a stepped section closed by two sliding shutters, beneath which opens a central niche flanked by two or three small drawers, one of which is fitted with a writing surface. The stepped section rests on a table with a scalloped apron supported by four cabriole legs; The tabletop is a lockable drop-leaf that unfolds to form a leather-covered desk on the reverse; the drop-leaf covers three compartments closed by three sliding lids; two small drawers open underneath.
- He is described as being about thirty years old in his marriage certificate of 1763. ↩︎
Bibliography
- French Furniture of the 18th Century – Pierre Kjellberg – Les Editions de l'Amateur – 1989
- The workshops Parisian cabinetmakers and joiners in the 17th and 18th centuries – Guillaume Janneau – Serg Editions – 1975
- The Art Object, No. 470 – July-August 2011 – pp. 66-77
The Happiness of the Day
Created around 1760 and replacing the slant-front desk, the bonheur-du-jour stands out as the quintessential piece of feminine furniture. In their small, intimate sitting room, known as a boudoir, this lady's piece was primarily reserved for their favorite activity: writing. From there, its usefulness varied depending on its placement—as a desk and secretary in the living room, a chest of drawers or dressing table in the bedroom, or as a display piece—but it always retained its feminine significance. It owes its name to the fact that ladies of the time could hide letters and small objects within it. This private piece of furniture, consisting of tiered shelves filled with drawers (and sometimes a few hiding places), allowed them to conceal mail, their secret, intimate correspondence, which was their «"Happiness of the day".
