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A superb quality Louis XVI mahogany oak lined two-door bookcase by Etienne Avril, stamped AVRIL of rectangular form, the moulded cornice with rounded corners and panelled frieze above two astragal glazed doors, the interior with four shelves, with stop fluted columnar angles to the front and back, with panelled sides above four turned bronze capped feet
Paris, date circa 1780
Height 214 cm, width 155 cm, depth 44 cm.
Known as Avril l’Aîné, Etienne Avril (1747-91) was received as a maître ébéniste in 1774 to become a cabinetmaker of distinction and a very successful retailer. His work, made in an overt Neo-classical style was as here distinguished by its light and simple lines, well-proportioned forms generally featuring fine mahogany veneers and little or no bronze mounts except for handles, escutcheons. On occasion he included fine beaded inlays to emphasise the architectural forms. Avril also made pieces in bois de rose, for example a Louis XVI commode in the Musée de Marmottan, Paris and ornamented mahogany pieces with contrasting panels or banding such as a small Louis XVI mahogany armoire inlaid with ebony and Sèvres biscuit medallions, housed at the Musée Château de Fontainebleau. Less frequently he decorated his furniture with veneers of citronnier, sycamore as well as olive wood and sometimes featured geometric marquetry (e.g. a Louis XVI commode decorated with lozenge and trellised inlays illustrated in Pierre Kjellberg, “Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIe Siècle”, 1998, p. 42).
Avril maintained a workshop at rue de Charenton at the corner of rue de Moreau until just before the Revolution when he handed it over to his younger brother Pierre Avril (d. 1807) but continued to run extensive showrooms close to la porte Saint-Antoine. Following his death three auctions, each lasting several days were needed to disperse his important stock of goods from his showrooms. A contemporary advertisement gives an idea of the range of furniture that he had on offer “quantity of commodes, consoles, bookcases, secrétaires and chiffoniers in mahogany and bois des Indes, night tables etc…” In addition he also made and sold vitrines, bureaux and small tables de salon. Among his clientele was Queen Marie-Antoinette who commissioned pieces for her apartments at Château de Saint-Cloud.
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