Louis XVI secretary stamped TOPINO

Restoration of a Louis XVI secretary desk stamped by Charles Topino. Its form is typical of Topino, and its frame is made of oak and softwood. The front opens with a drawer and a drop-front covered in red leather and tooled in gold. Behind the drop-front, two compartments and four drawers veneered in rosewood are revealed. Below, two marquetry doors depicting vases and draperies on a tobacco ground conceal a shelf. On the other side, the drop-front features musical instruments, ribbons, and foliage, also on a tobacco ground. Greek key and simple amaranth and sycamore stringings frame the entire piece. The sides display two compositions of vases of flowers. Finally, the canted corners have simulated fluting, and the drawer features a green-stained maple trellis punctuated with boxwood finials.

Charles Topino (1742-1803)

Charles was born in Paris in 1742. He was the son of the cabinetmaker Henry-Nicolas Topino (himself the son of master hatter Nicolas Topino), He settled on the Grande-Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine in 1731. Initially a free worker in the faubourg, Charles became a master on November 17, 1773, after a masterpiece was presented on November 4. Then, in 1782, he was appointed deputy of the guild of carpenters and cabinetmakers, in recognition of his work.

A multifaceted craftsman

Recognized in France and abroad, Topino attracted numerous clients. He supplied furniture to merchants and lords such as the Marquis de Gravelle. Furthermore, he worked for fellow craftsmen like Boudin, Migeon, Jean-Baptiste Tuart, Pierre Denizot, Nicolas Héricourt, and Delorme.

In addition, he supplied a great deal of wood to his colleagues: Roger Vandercruse, known as RVLC, Mathieu-Guillaume Cramer, Denis-Louis Ancellet, Fouge, Gober, and Louis Moreau. Conversely, he also bought furniture from other cabinetmakers (Virrig, Messeclé, Jacques, Simon Guillaume, Jean-Baptiste Tuart, Ohneberg, Pierre, Rocle, Kohl).

Charles Topino's diary reveals a peculiarity: he sold and exported ready-made marquetry. It records the sale of numerous batches of ready-to-glue marquetry to his brother Jean-Baptiste, known by the pseudonym Lebrund. These marquetry pieces are typical of Topino's style, featuring designs of birds, dogs, pottery, watering cans, tokens, playing cards, and so on.

An innovative and varied production

Topino owes his place in the history of cabinetmaking to his marquetry of utensils "in the Chinese style." However, it would be reductive to stop there. Indeed, his extensive production is very varied. It also follows several decorative cycles, guided by a highly personal aesthetic.

His marquetry of flower vases, writing desks, and utensils, such as cups, teapots, and bowls, are the most typical elements of his furniture. Presented as still lifes, they are also displayed alongside playing cards and books. Most often, they are inspired by the borders of Chinese Coromandel lacquer screens. Gathered in an oval, round, or square medallion, or arranged in a frieze, these motifs are almost always shown in profile. Their carving is simple, with few pieces of wood, the details of which are then finished with a chisel.

For his bonheur-du-jour tables, he generally remained faithful to the classic rectangular design. However, he also created a few oval models, a novelty he favored. Similarly, his marquetry tables depicting everyday objects were often oval. Most had a drawer in the center of the apron and, on the sides, two small pivoting drawers.

Flowers, landscapes and bankruptcy

Alongside these original designs, Topino also practiced marquetry of flowers and landscapes. The former are increasingly found on Louis XVI furniture. As for the latter, pastoral scenes, chinoiserie, or architectural motifs, they mainly adorn small, round drum-shaped tables with three cabriole legs.

Despite a successful career, Topino had to close shop on December 21, 1789. The reasons were poor management, due to badly kept accounts, and the Revolution.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Charles Topino – Furniture Notebooks – Sylvain Barbier Sainte Marie – Amateur Editions – 2005
• 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

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State of affairs report

This secretary desk had several significant problems. First, its cellulose varnish was badly faded and yellowed. Furthermore, green, brown, and red pigments (fuchsine) had been applied to it. Along with old, tinted grafts, these obscured the marquetry. Structurally, the drop-front had several cracks. Finally, the sides were separating from the back uprights: the piece was unstable and cracking.

The Restoration

Undoing restoration is always awkward. Sometimes, however, it's unavoidable. This is the case, for example, when double-sided tape is found under an old graft.

We therefore began by removing the cellulose varnish, which concealed the extent of the work. After stripping, we encountered a surprise: many of the old grafts were made of beech instead of sycamore. This was true for both the tobacco-colored backgrounds and the marquetry pieces.

On the other hand, the pleasant surprise was discovering beautiful greens in the foliage and even a very pretty blue in the flowers.

Transplants and reintegration

We therefore remade these grafts with sawn, scraped and sanded veneer, cut to the correct thickness on the reverse side before gluing. In this way, the patina of the piece of furniture remained intact.

Unfortunately, some grafts on the tobacco base would remain very difficult to conceal, such as the one at the bottom left of the flap. Indeed, it is difficult to find wood of the same grain and texture in that area.

For the drawers and the upper right side, we removed the beech trellis back panel, without touching the green stringing or the finials. Then a new tobacco-colored sycamore back panel replaced it, of course without scraping or sanding.

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After filling with pumice, we oxidized the grafts. Then, after a first coat of varnish applied with a pad, we reworked the engravings with a marker, without touching the veneer. In addition, a chromatic reintegration (or "dramatic," as my colleague Hugues would say!) blended the grain of the underlying grafts. Finally, a few holes were treated in the same way.

Finally, the ARTE company in Paris gilded the bronzes.

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