Bonheur-du-jour Stamped Pierre Mantel, 18th century
The cabinetmaker Pierre Mantel (died in May 1802) was received as a master in 1766. He then settled in rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, then rue de Charenton and finally rue Saint-Antoine, three high places of cabinetmaking under the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. He shone just as much in the Transition style as in the style of the last sovereign of the 18th century. Although the art of this period owes more to the taste of Marie-Antoinette than to that of her husband, the misnamed Louis XVI style is admirably mastered here.
All mahogany, rosewood, marquetry of amaranth and rosewood frieze enhanced with fine ebony and boxwood inlay, our bonheur-du-jour stamped Pierre Mantel uses all the essences then fashionable. The golden gallery running along the white Carrara marble top is also a novelty of this delicate style. The large showcase opening with two doors is locked in a lock decorated with ribbon bows. In the belt, a row of drawers mounted in a dovetail only opens if you take the trouble to pull out the writing desk lined with black leather and gilded with a small iron. A precaution which makes it possible to dissuade the curious. A large drawer opens in the belt, under the writing desk, and connects the piece of furniture to square section legs set in clogs of the same shape. The whole is in very good condition.
