PAIR OF EARLY GAINS NAPOLEON III By Jean-Louis-Benjamin Gros
Based on the model of André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732)
In ebony veneer and tortoiseshell and brass marquetry, chased and gilded bronze ornamentation, the sheath surmounted by a drapery and flanked by a scroll of foliage, the plinth openworked with an arch on three sides, each signed "GROS" on one of the side bronzes
H. 134.5 cm (53 in.)
l. Width: 58.5 cm (23 in.)
P. : 39 cm (15 ¼ in.)
Comparative bibliography :
C. Payne, Paris, "La Quintessence du Meuble au XIXe siècle", Éditions Monelle Hayot, 2018, p.128.

A pair of Louis XIV style gilt-bronze mounted, ebonised, tortoiseshell and brass-inlaid pedestals, by Jean-Louis-Benjamin Gros, mid-19th century, after the model by André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732)
This form of apron sheath, known as scabellon, was created by André Charles Boulle (1642-1732) at the beginning of the 18th century to serve as a base for vases or bronzes. It appears on Plate I of the engraved collection that Boulle published in Mariette after 1707. The Louvre
has three pairs (D. Alcouffe et al, "Le Mobilier du Musée du Louvre", Tome 1, p.88, fig. 22). It was taken over by Delorme, Levasseur or Montigny at the end of the century. Once again in fashion at the end of the 19th century, models are known to have been made by several craftsmen, including the English manufacturer and merchant Edward Holmes Baldock. A pair of sheaths very similar to the present pair is illustrated in C. Payne, Paris, "la quintessence du meuble au XIXe siècle", Monelle Hayot 2018, p.128.
Jean-Louis-Benjamin Gros, active in the 1850s and 1860s, is listed in the Almanac as a cabinetmaker specializing in marquetry and mosaic and a manufacturer of ornamental bronzes for furniture. He collaborated with Charles Guillaume Winckelsen (active from 1854 to 1871) as a senior cabinetmaker. The latter notably made extremely precise copies of Boulle furniture for an illustrious clientele including the Radziwills, the Behagues, the Marquis de Lillers and the Laffite family. Jean Gros took part in the Exposition des produits de l'Industrie in 1849 and in the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1855. Renowned for his Boulle marquetry and Louis XVI style furniture, furniture with hard stone inlays are also characteristic of his production. He was one of the suppliers
of the Duke d'Aumale in Chantilly. His son Aristide-Henri (1843-18**) took over on his retirement.
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* Information to buyers:
Lot made of organic materials from endangered species, import or export restrictions may apply, a CITES certificate may be required. Each country has its own law-making about it. Any potential buyer must check, before bidding, if he is entitled to import this lot within his country of residence.
For an exit from the EU, a re-export CITES certificate may be necessary and will be at the future buyer's expense.