Lot 676: A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED, TULIPWOOD AND AMARANTH TRIC-TRAC TABLE

A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED, TULIPWOOD AND AMARANTH TRIC-TRAC TABLE
CIRCA 1760
The removeable rectangular top with a leather-lined writing surface to one side and baize to the other, above four drawers and with a slide inlaid with a jeu de l'oie to one side and a chess board on the other, on cabriole legs with gilt sabot, the angles mounts re-gilt but probably original, stamped 'P.Roussel', includes ivory counters, dice and leather shaker
29¾ in. (75 cm.) high; 45½ in. (115 cm.) wide; 24 in. (61 cm.) deep

Acquired from Maurice Segoura, Paris, 20 June 2001.

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.
Pierre Roussel, maître in 1745.

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 - including jeu de l'oie and tric trac - 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 Reynis, Le Mobilier Domestique, Paris, 1987, p. 393, fig. 1411).


PIERRE ROUSSEL

Established in the rue de Charenton at l'Image de St. Pierre, Roussel was described as early as 1769 in the Almanach de Vray Merit as l'un des premiers ébénistes de Paris. Particularly renowned for his floral marquetry, often executed for the German market and characterised by the heavy use of engraving to enhance its naturalistic quality, this table à jeux is characteristic of Roussel's style of the early 1760s.

The inventory drawn up by Leleu and Cochois following Roussel's death in 1783 reveals an atelier at the height of its activity. However, whilst most of the ébénisterie appears to have been executed on the premises, often by Roussel's sons Pierre Michel (maître in 1766) and Pierre le Jeune (maître in 1771), the ormolu mounts were supplied by specialist bronziers, including Turchin, Ravrio and the doreur Trufot. Also noted in the inventory, which is of particular interest, is the specific reference to a variety of multi-functional pieces of furniture, including tables, bedside tables, secrétaires and dressing-tables to name just a few (G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, London, 1974, vol. II, p.880).