A NAPOLEON III EBONY AND BOULLE MARQUETRY SIDE CABINET ATTRIBUTED TO MATHIEU BEFORT DIT BEFORT...

A NAPOLEON III EBONY AND BOULLE MARQUETRY SIDE CABINET ATTRIBUTED TO MATHIEU BEFORT DIT BEFORT JEUNE

c.1875

with gilt bronze mounts, the detachable black marble top above a pair of doors decorated with two of the four seasons, Ceres and Saturn, enclosing an oak lined interior with one shelf, the sides with Hercules masks, the underside of the marble top with various labels, including one inscribed 'Lady Vernet' dated ' Aug. 6 1875'

104.5cm high, 126.5cm wide, 44cm deep

PROVENANCE

Lady Alice Emily Verner (1853-1908), who married Christopher Neville Bagot (1827-1877) in 1875 and by descent to the present vendor.

CATALOGUE NOTE

This meuble d'appui can be firmly attributed to the cabinet maker Matthieu Befort called Befort Jeune who was recorded at Neuves-Saint-Gilles from 1844 until 1880. He specialised in furniture in the Louis XIV and Regence style and copied a number of pieces from those periods. One of his most famous works was a copy of Andre-Charles Boulle's armoire a medaille. For a pair of similar cabinets, see Christie's, The Opulent Eye, 20th September 2012, lot 18.