GAUDREAUS, Antoine-Robert
(b. ca. 1682, Paris, d. 1746, Paris)

Chest of drawers

1739
Veneered on oak with kingwood and satiné, height 89 cm
Wallace Collection, London

The gilt-bronze mounts were made by Jacques Caffiéri (1678-1755), father of the sculptors Jean-Jacques and Philippe Caffiéri, and one of the most celebrated bronzeworkers in the reign of Louis XV. The tabletop is of serpentine marble.

The gilt-bronze mounts used in furniture were on occasion so overwhelming that many pieces appeared to be no more than a mere support for the extravagance of the mounts