Restoration of a Louis XV commode stamped by Jean-Baptiste Fromageau. Framed in oak and conifer, this commode is inlaid with rosewood within violet wood borders.
Curved at the front and flared at the sides, it opens with four drawers in three rows, and is topped with a... Grey marble Sainte-Anne.
Jean-Baptiste Fromageau
The son of a master carpenter, Jean Baptiste Fromageau was born around 1725. After receiving his master's certificate on November 5, 1755, he set up his workshop on Rue Traversière before moving to Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. The Dauphin Almanac mentions his workshop as one of the most important in Paris. A cabinetmaker, carpenter, and haberdasher, he was a unique case in this era of strict regulations between the various guilds, because unlike Georges Jacob, he primarily produced cabinetmaking furniture but also joinery furniture (and in particular, chairs). His work includes secretaries, slant-front desks, sideboards, bookcases, wardrobes, tables… but above all, a great many commodes in the Regency, Louis XV, Transitional, and Louis XVI styles. He ceased his activity in 1777, retired for a time to Versailles before returning to Paris where, in 1781, he ran the Hôtel de Russie, rue de Richelieu.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- The workshops Parisian cabinetmakers and joiners in the 17th and 18th centuries – Guillaume Janneau – Serg Editions – 1975
- French Furniture of the 18th Century – Pierre Kjellberg – Les Editions de l'Amateur – 1989
State of affairs report
There were few missing veneers on this chest of drawers, but all the veneered surfaces were slightly dehydrated. The most significant defects were structural. The panels were loose, no longer providing adequate structural support. And most importantly, the front left upright was detached from the left side panel.
The Restoration
After reattaching the left upright to the side panel, and then reattaching and leaving the top, back, and bottom panels in place, the few missing violet wood veneer areas were filled with sawn, scraped, sanded, and cut-to-the-correct thickness veneer on the back side before rehydrating the glue by infiltrating it. After the grafts had oxidized, the old varnish was thinned and then restored before the application of a colorless shellac varnish.
