Untitled
possibly Mathieu Criaerd (1689 - 1776)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1760
Materials
Tulipwood, purpleheart, olivewood, walnut, fruitwood, oak, ormolu, marble
Place of origin
Paris
Order this imageCollection
Attingham Park, Shropshire
NT 608169
Summary
A pair of ormolu-mounted tulipwood and marquetry encoignures or corner cabinets, French, circa 1760, with rosso marble tops. Stamped 'CRIAER' and 'JME'.
Full description
Either by Mathieu Criaerd (1689 - 1776) of Paris, maître in 1738, who used the stamp M CRIAERD (with no mark or punctuation between the initial and surname), or by Sébastien-Mathieu Criaerd (1732 - 1796), known as 'Criaerd le jeune', who took over his father's business after his mother's death in 1767. Sébastien-Mathieu continued to stamp with his father's name. His elder brother, Antoine-Mathieu Criard (c. 1724 - 1787), maître in 1747, at first adopted the stamp 'M. Criard' with smaller-sized lettering than his father's, but later he stamped solely 'Criard', without the initial, as found here. The stamp has caused some confusion, and it should be noted that there is no 'D' at the end of the stamp to these cabinets. Quite early in his career, and through the agency of the marchand-mercier Hebert, Mathieu Criaerd supplied a magnificent corner cupboard and matching commode decorated with blue and white vernis Martin in the style of Pillement and silvered mounts for use in Madame de Mailly’s apartment at the Chateau de Choisy. This commission probably led to the introduction of Hebert as a purveyor of furniture to the court and brought Criaerd himself to the attention of wealthy clients. He specialized in fine furniture in the Louis XV style veneered with floral and geometrical marquetry as well as Oriental or pseudo-Oriental lacquer framed and embellished with mounts of a richly rococo character. It is perhaps a sufficient indication of his high standing that, on a number of occasions, he supplied furniture to J.-F. Oeben, the great ébéniste du Roi.
Provenance
Believed to be 3rd Lord Berwick collection: William Noel-Hill, 3rd Baron Berwick (1773 - 1842). Listed in the Probate Inventory taken at Attingham in 1947 as an 'Heirloom' (p. 10) and in the 1953 Inventory taken at Attingham (p. 30, No. 15). By descent and bequeathed to the National Trust with the estate, house and contents of Attingham by Thomas Henry Noel-Hill, 8th Baron Berwick (1877-1947) on 15th May 1953.
Marks and inscriptions
CRIAER J.M.E. (carved under marble tops both to left and right front corners)
Makers and roles
possibly Mathieu Criaerd (1689 - 1776), ébéniste possibly Antoine-Mathieu Criaerd (1724 - 1787), ébéniste possibly Sébastien-Mathieu Criaerd (1732 - 1796), ébéniste