Biography

French cabinet-maker, known as Béfort Jeune because he always stamped his work 'Béfort Jeune,' or had the reverse of his bronze mounts stamped BJ. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Béfort (1783-1840), who was of Belgian origin and renowned for having supplied furniture for the apartments of the Duc d'Orléans. His older brother Bernard Béfort was active between 1836 and 1858, which was the date after which Mathieu took over the business until 1878.

Mathieu was very successful in creating pieces in the manner of Boulle and Renaissance. As a gifted ébeniste-marqueteur he specialized in Boulle-style marquetry and in particularly high quality work inspired by the work of André-Charles Boulle himself. Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener reputedly took over the Béfort firm circa 1880.

The high quality of Béfort's work allowed him to become a purveyor to Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie.