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An extremely fine Louis XVI oak-lined mahogany bureau plat by Godefroy Dester, stamped G·DESTER and JME, the rectangular top with a black leather-lined writing surface above a central frieze drawer and shaped knee hole flanked by two smaller drawers to the left and single deep drawer with false double front to the right, each oak-lined drawer with shaped fitted drawer linings and a plain escutcheon, the sides fitted with black leather-lined writing slides with ring pulls, the angles mounted by a rectangular fluted block on turned tapering legs headed by gilt bands and terminating in turned caps
Paris, date circa 1785
Height 76 cm, length 178 cm, depth 91 cm.
The range of furniture and the various forms of decoration produced by the Parisian ébéniste Godefroy Dester (1768-1805) was extremely varied. His shapes tended to be simple while his use of gilt bronze mounts was restrained, relying on the beauty of the wood and his craftsmanship to be seen to full advantage. Dester’s work was always of the highest quality, for instance here the oak-lined drawers have slightly curved caps at the tip of the liners so that they fit perfectly into the main frame. Dester used a variety of woods including satinwood and stained maplewood to create a harmonious blend of pale gold and green yet at other times, such as here he used pure mahogany. On the whole his mahogany pieces were similar in style to the work of Guillaume Benneman as well as Adam Weisweiler, such as a commode à vantaux, which copied the ‘commodes à brisure’ produced circa 1785 by Weisweiler (illustrated in Alexandre Pradère, “French Furniture Makersâ€, 1989, p.329). The present bureau plat with its well-figured mahogany, strong Neo-classical lines combined with the sparing use of mounts and its high quality can also be compared with the work of David Roentgen.
The present bureau bears the guild mark JME, used by Dester after he was made a maître-ébéniste in July 1774. Like many of his trade he worked from rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, where he remained active until at least 1790. His production included a range of light furniture from commodes, secrétaires, various tables and bonheurs-du-jour. Though he made a few Louis XV pieces such as a small Chinese lacquered commode as well as Transitional commodes (examples of which are illustrated in Pierre Kjellberg, “Le Mobilier Français de XVIIIe Siècleâ€, 1989, p. 259), the majority of his furniture was in the full Louis XVI style. One of his specialities was the use of a delicate floral trellis marquetry, employed in the decoration of secrétaires, bonheurs-du-jour, commodes and for instance for a small Louis XVI table now in the Musée de Cognacq-Jay, Paris. The same or very similar distinctive marquetry work was also used by Mathieu Guillaume Cramer (maître 1771), who for a short while also worked from rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine.
The only recorded pieces of elaborate furniture by Dester comprised a pair of Louis XVI toilet commodes, which were decorated with highly ornate gilt bronze mounts and decorative Sèvres porcelain plaques (of which one formerly in the Collection of the Earl of Plymouth is illustrated in Pradère op. cit. p. 328). Both were purchased in 1785 by the comte d’Artois from the marchand-miroitier Claude Delaroue, who had a shop in rue de Verrerie at the sign ‘A la Toilette Royal’. It appears that Delaroue, who supervised Dester during their creation, was trying to emulate the porcelain-mounted furniture in which the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre specialised. Since Dester is not known to have supplied Daguerre, he was, with Joseph Stockel (maître 1775), one of the few ébénistes to use porcelain plaques that did not supply Daguerre. The comte’s commodes were placed in his bedroom at the Palais du Temple and as they were designed for his toilette they were fitted with blue chamois lined boxes in which he kept his toiletries. When Dester died on 24th December 1805 he left to his mother, brothers and sister his remaining stock of furniture estimated to be worth 2,352 francs.
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