1-31 December 2003

Come and see the remarkable, colourful interiors of ten of the finest pieces of eighteenth-century French furniture in the Wallace Collection!

See how this:

transforms into this:

View Animation

Small (183KB)

Medium (1.37MB)

Large (5.45MB)

Click on the images above to open and close these pieces of furniture

Open Furniture returns again to the Wallace Collection and this year we have chosen a special theme for the display. To celebrate the successful conservation of one of our finest pieces of royal furniture in the collection, the secrétaire à abattant or drop-front desk (F300, Cat.196) made by Jean-Henri Riesener for use by Marie-Antoinette at Versailles, we are focusing attention on furniture by Riesener in the Wallace Collection. In the Oval Drawing Room you can see six of the ten pieces of furniture in the Collection which are attributed to Riesener. All the furniture in this display was collected by the 4th Marquess of Hertford (1800-1870), who especially prized high-quality French eighteenth-century furniture.

Compare the intricate construction and beautiful colours of the interiors of the two roll-top desks in the centre of the Oval Drawing Room and the four other pieces under the window, all of which were made by Riesener, one of the most important cabinet-makers in late eighteenth-century France. The four pieces of furniture arranged on either side of the fireplace in the room are made by contemporaries of Riesener.

Riesener by Vestier

Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806) was born in Gladbeck in Westphalia (now part of Germany), the son of a chair maker. He moved to Paris at an early age, probably about 1754, to be apprenticed to Jean-François Oeben (1721-63) at the Arsenal. At this time there were many first- and second-generation immigrant ébénistes or cabinet-makers in the city. On coming to Paris these foreigners tended to live together in certain quarters of Paris such as the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, where they were allowed to work outside the regulation of the Parisian Guild of Menuisiers. However, the privilege that most ébénistes sought was to be able to set up a workshop at the Arsenal and work directly for the Crown.

As an apprentice to Oeben, Riesener gained direct experience of producing pieces of luxurious furniture for the royal palaces. Oeben had been granted the title of ébéniste du roi, cabinet-maker to the King, in 1754, and had worked at the Royal Manufactories of the Gobelins before moving to the Arsenal in 1756. Oeben was particularly renowned for his ability to produce furniture in a sober yet mature rococo style, decorated with stunning floral marquetry. He was also esteemed for his invention of mechanical devices, enabling pieces of furniture to be opened and closed in an ingenious manner.

At the time of Oeben’s death in 1763, Riesener was one of his principal employees. In 1767, he married Oeben’s widow and took over his quarters at the Arsenal which remained his home and workshop for over thirty years. Between 1774-1784, he made over seven hundred pieces of furniture for the Crown, including the two large secrétaires made for Marie-Antoinette which are included in the display.

This small display in the Oval Drawing Room celebrates the collection of pieces by Riesener in the Wallace Collection and enables you, for the first time, to compare the interiors of six pieces of furniture by this great craftsman.

Further reading (the following are all available in the Wallace Collection shop):

Yannick Chastang Paintings in Wood: French Marquetry Furniture (The Wallace Collection, 2001)

Peter Hughes The Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Furniture, Volumes I-III (The Wallace Collection, 1996)

Alexandre Pradère French Furniture Makers: The Art of the Ebéniste from Louis XIV to the Revolution (Sotheby’s, 1989)