Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux)
Michel-Gabriel Commelin|Martin Carlin|Sèvres Manufactory|Jean-Jacques Pierre the Younger
ca. 1770 · Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original) · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Nine nearly identical coffers on stands are known (three in the Museum's collection) that are either stamped or attributed to Martin Carlin. Working in Paris, this successful German cabinet maker specialized in making light and elegant pieces for a fashionable and distinguished clientele. On December 13, 1770, the marchand mercier (dealer in luxury good) Simon-Philippe Poirier (ca. 1729-1785), who had a virtual monopoly on the purchase of Sèvres plaques, delivered "a coffer of French porcelain on a green ground with floral cartouches, very richly embellished with gilt bronze, and its stand" to Madame Du Barry (1743-1793), mistress of King Louis XV. Since seven of the plaques have the date letter R for 1770 painted on their backs, it has been suggested that this may have been the one commissioned by Madame Du Barry.
- Artist
- Michel-Gabriel Commelin|Martin Carlin|Sèvres Manufactory|Jean-Jacques Pierre the Younger
- Date
- ca. 1770
- Medium
- Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original)
- Culture
- French, Paris and Sèvres
- Department
- European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
- Credit line
- Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958
