Date: about 1710
Maker: cabinetwork attributed to André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732)
Materials: oak, conifer, walnut, mahogany, ebony, turtleshell, brass, gilt bronze, steel and marble
Measurements: 84.5 x 113 x 66 cm
Inv. no. F402
The origin of the chest of drawers can be traced back to kneehole desks, called bureaux Mazarin in French. Early versions of such desks had drawers that were supported on eight legs, often with X- or H-shaped stretchers.
Over time, these drawers grew larger and more numerous, eventually almost reaching the ground. It is thought that chests of drawers developed from this, being intended to maximise storage with drawers that run across the entire length and height of the furniture, without a kneehole to accommodate a chair.
Early versions of such chests of drawers had three, or sometimes four, drawers, which were placed on four or five legs rather than eight. Chests of drawers first appeared in Louis XIV’s household in 1695 and were from thereon regularly delivered to the king. At first, they were still referred to in the household’s accounts as ‘desks’, but the terminology, like the furniture, evolved over time.
Initially, they were referred to as tables en bureaux, or hybrid desk-tables, until a specific term was introduced – commodes, derived from the French word for ‘convenient’. The Wallace Collection chest of drawers bears some similarities to a groundbreaking pair Boulle delivered to Louis XIV’s bedroom at the Grand Trianon, a royal retreat in the grounds of Versailles, in 1708–9.
Although the Wallace example is simpler in its decoration, it shares the sinuous S-shape corners of the royal prototype. Although Boulle reproduced the Trianon model multiple times, the museum’s chest of drawers appears to be the only surviving example of this variation.
Although attributed to Boulle, the stamp of Étienne Levasseur (1721–1798) appears twice. Levasseur was a cabinetmaker working in the Parisian suburb of Faubourg Saint-Antoine, who probably learned his craft from one of Boulle’s sons, André-Charles Boulle the younger (1685–1745) or Charles-Joseph Boulle (died 1754).
Working as an independent master from 1765, he specialised in repairing old Boulle work and making copies of some of his most popular models. The so-called Londonderry Cabinet in the Wallace Collection is a prime example of Levasseur’s production, being a reinterpretation of a Boulle design for a bookcase.
The presence of his stamps on the chest of drawers indicates the piece was restored by him, probably around 1770. This was likely done in collaboration with the luxury goods dealer François Julliot (died 1794), as the work formed part of his 1777 sale.
It first appears in the Collection in 1870, when it is inventoried in the Large Drawing Room at Hertford House, suggesting the 4th Marquess of Hertford bought it in England.