Estate / Collection: Property from the Estate of Elaine and James D. Wolfensohn

With brass banding and ormolu applied to ebony and part-ebonized backing, the three-quarter galleried superstructure with inset white marble top centerd by a pointed arch with a foliate-cast mount, the corners mounted with urns above a berried laurel leaf-mounted frieze centered and flanked by lozenge mounts over a pair of flame-grained mahogany tambour doors opening to shelves above small drawers, the central Apollo mask-mounted herm panel hinged and opening to four drawers, flanked by ormolu caryatid herms, the projecting lower section above a frieze drawer with an ebony-backed ormolu panel and centering a keyhole flanked by opposing sphinxes, scrolling foliage, flowers and displayed eagles, further flanked by ormolu lion's head ring handles and reeded lozenge backplates and opening to a baize-lined writing surface frieze with side drawers with concealed spring-loaded action and opening at the front to drawers, the right drawer with inkwell recesses; on faceted octagonal legs headed by arched milleraies panels and long leaf-cast capitals and joined by a galleried concave undertier and ending in leaf-cast toupie feet, the back of the lower section with two catches for wall securement; the front of the underside with inked inscription No=86. ; the back of the upper section with a penciled inscription Salle 56.

Height 52 3/4 in (133.9 cm), width 35 1/2 in (90.1 cm), depth 23 in (58.4 cm)

Pelham Galleries, London.

Grosvenor House Arts & Antiques Fair, London, 1986.

The fine quality of the present bonheur du jour suggests a style associated with two German master cabinet-makers working in Russia in the late 18th century: David Roentgen and his pupil, Heinrich Gambs.

Roentgen (1743-1807) was the most sought-after cabinet maker in Europe, where he worked for royal and aristocratic patrons including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. His reputation was based on the highest degree of craftsmanship and quality of materials as well as for ingenious and intricately made pieces with multiple functions. He went to St. Petersburg in 1784 where he was presented to Catherine the Great, who bought his whole shipment of furniture, including the Apollo Desk (State Hermitage, St. Petersburg) that he had specially designed for her. This was described by the Empress in a letter to the former diplomat and Roentgen client Baron von Grimm: 'his furniture is very finely and precisely made, especially those pieces with mechanical devices'. She was so pleased with the desk, she paid the asking price, gave Roentgen a gold box and an additional bonus of 5,000 rubles. His furniture of this period was characterized by restrained architectural forms and the use of mahogany offset by dazzling ormolu mounts.

Heinrich Gambs (1765-1831), who worked for Roentgen in Neuwied am Reim and went with him to Russia in the late 1780s, set up his own workshop in 1795 on the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. He was commissioned by the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna in 1793 to provide a desk which she described as 'a large writing table in the style of Roentgen'. Gambs was contracted by Catherine the Great in 1795 to furnish the apartments of the Grand Duke Alexander's apartments at Tsarkoye Selo. He was appointed court cabinet maker in 1801. Gambs' style was originally similar to Roentgen's but by the end of the 18th century was inspired by Parisian taste, with its strict Neoclassical lines, the finest mahogany veneers and extravagent use of ormolu. Additionally, he used ebony and ebonized fruitwood for moldings and as backing for ormolu mounts, making them appear even more pronounced.

There were other excellent Russian cabinet makers working at this period in St. Petersburg drawing inspiration from the work of Roentgen and Gambs. Similar characteristics of Roentgen include pierced galleries with urns to the corners, spring-loaded secret drawers, flame-grained mahogany veneered en papillion and ormolu milleraies panels to the legs that are found on much of Roentgen's furniture of the late 1780s. Gambs used these features as well and also employed ebony and ebonized fruitwood as backing for his ormolu mounts and secret drawers released by hidden buttons.

As this piece is not signed, an attribution is not possible. However, the exceptional design, materials and execution speak to a maker of the highest caliber.