FÉLIX LAURENT

Secretaire signed Felix Laurent, Louis XV Paris, 18th century

Height x width x depth: 141 x 109 x 43 cm.

Secrétaire à abattant veneered in bois de rose and bois de violette (Dalbegia spp), decorated with extraordinary polychrome floral marqueterie depicting flowering branches, leaves, and two faced birds, adorned with gilt bronzes at corners and feet. Frame with upper drawer, central flap concealing writing desk, and two doors below. Both inside the scarab and lower doors conceal secret compartments. Marble top.

Signed *F. LAURENT* and JME ( Jurande des Menuisiers Ebènistes) in fire on the mounts of the back cover.
Laurent was one of the *ébénistes* active in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, specializing in furniture of sober and highly refined taste, perfectly represented by this example.

This lot is accompanied by an expertise issued by Ce.S.Ar Centro studi archeometici.

Literature:
Félix Laurent was a Parisian cabinetmaker active in the second half of the 18th century. He obtained the *master* standard in 1764 and worked mainly in the *Faubourg Saint-Antoine* district, the centre of high quality furniture production in Paris at the time. His production lies in the transition between late Rococo and Neoclassicism, with furniture in the Transition and Louis XVI styles, often decorated with *geometrical marqueterie* and finely crafted gilded bronzes.

Laurent signed his furniture with the mark *"F. LAURENT ’* stamped on it, as required by the guild's regulations. His works, fewer in number than those of other better known ébénistes, are today considered rare and sought after by collectors and museums.

Essential bibliography:

- Pierre Kjellberg, *Le mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle*, Paris, Les Éditions de l'Amateur, 1989
- Alexandre Pradère, *Les Ébénistes français de Louis XIV à la Révolution*, Paris, 1989
- Salverte, *Les Ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle*, Paris, 1923
- Musée Carnavalet, catalogue of signed furniture
- Archives nationales de France, Dossiers des maîtres ébénistes