Enfilade

2012 Biennale des Antiquaires
Grand Palais, Paris, 14-23 September 2012

In the September 2012 issue of Apollo Magazine, Susan Moore previews the upcoming Biennale des Antiquaires, which thanks to the design work of Karl Lagerfeld is sure to garner plenty of press coverage in the coming weeks (he’s briefly profiled with a tease for the event in the current issue of Elle Decor). While the art fair will present a wide range of offerings (in keeping with the general trends of similar recent events), the established dealers of French decorative arts are to be well represented. As Moore writes:

Kraemer & Cie, for instance, arguably the grandest of them all, is presenting the first ever exhibition devoted to the great French cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener (1734–1806; see Collectors’ Focus, pp. 94–95). Trained by Jean-François Oeben, Riesener became a maitre ébéniste in 1768 and was appointed ébéniste du roi to Louis XVI in 1774. He was also Marie-Antoinette’s preferred supplier. ‘While a lot of cabinet-makers at the time may seem similar,’ explains Laurent Kraemer, ‘Riesener’s work is immediately identifiable by the perfection of proportion and execution – whether [he was] producing extremely rich marquetry for the court or very simple mahogany pieces with no or few gilt-bronze mounts.’ Some 20 pieces will be presented in a simple museum-style display, including a transitional Louis XV–Louis XVI commode with a central panel comprising a polychrome marquetry vase of flowers, as well as a Louis XVI mahogany and mahogany veneered writing desk and cartonnier ornamented with chased and gilt-bronze mounts. Riesener’s only known pair of cabinets is also on display, along with two tables from Versailles. According to M. Kraemer, the last three years have seen a rise in the number of international collectors buying at the very top level. Prices here range from €50,000 to ‘many hundred thousands’. After the fair, the exhibition will transfer to the gallery on the rue de Monceau.

Other exhibitors represent 18th-century objets d’art, their wares displayed in a traditional setting. François Léage specialises in outstanding pieces of the period, and has installed the panelling from the Grand Salon of the Paris home of Le Normand de Mézières. It provides the perfect mise en scène for a handsome pair of ormolu and serpentine oval covered vases – a similar pair adorn the Queen’s private apartments at Versailles.

The full article is available here»