Lot 38: A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONY AND IVORY-INLAID TULIPWOOD, AMARANTH AND PARQUETRY GAMES TABLE

A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONY AND IVORY-INLAID TULIPWOOD, AMARANTH AND PARQUETRY GAMES TABLE
IN THE MANNER OF GUILLAUME KEMP, MID-18TH CENTURY
The removable rectangular top veneered on one side to form a chessboard and to represent dice, cards and chips, the reverse veneered to form a jeu de l'oie, the interior veneered to form a backgammon board, the frieze fitted with two drawers, raised on cabriole legs, remounted
29¾ in. (75.5 cm.) high, 31 in. (78.75 cm.) wide, 24½ in. (62 cm.) deep

G. Wannenes, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Milan, 1998, p.114.

Georges Wildenstein, East 64th Street, New York.
M. Akram Ojjeh, sold Sotheby's Monaco, 25-26 June 1979, lot 183.

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION (LOTS 35 - 39)
Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.
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Such elegant tables à jeux exemplify the passion for games of all types in 18th century France. It was the main indoor pastime of Louis XV's court. The duc de Luynes, chronicler of daily life at Court, would actually record the rare days when the King did not play.
The games featured here, played by members of the Court and of the privileged aristocracy, provide a fascinating insight into mid-18th century French society. The livre-journal of the celebrated marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux records numerous games-tables sold between 1748 and 1758, designed for particular games such as piquet, brelan, quadrille and tric-trac.

Related tables include that by Guillaume Kemp in the collection of the Marquess of Bath at Longleat house, Wiltshire; while another was sold Christie's Monaco, 5 December 1992, lot 75 (illustrated in N. de Reyniès, Le Mobilier Domestique, Paris, 1987, p. 393, fig. 1411).