An elegant small Louis XVI marquetry commode or chest of drawer, stamped by Jean Demoulin (1715-1798). With three drawers, each drawer with two walnut panels and inlay banding simulating a twisted rope, the sides similarly veneered. The circular drawer pulls bear the image of a Roman emperor. On square tapering legs with a slab of Breccia marble with hues of mauve and ochre. The whole veneered on an softwood case – together with the neoclassical style an indication of being made in Dijon where Jean Demoulin returned to in his later working period.
Jean Demoulin stamped his mark on top right corner of the carcase. Jean Demoulin or “Desmoulins” was an ébéniste from Burgundy who lived most of his life in Paris before returning to Dijon at the end of his career. He began to work in Paris in 1745 for the marchand and ébéniste Pierre Migeon and had opened his workshop on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, a neighbourhood popular among Parisian furniture makers. Although the date that he was received master is unknown, he amassed a wealthy clientele that included the Duke of Choiseul and the Prince of Condé.
Comparative literature: – Pierre Kjellberg: le Mobilier Francais de XVIIIe Siècle, Paris 2008, p. 288-289 (biographical details) – Bernard Deloche / Jean-Yves Mornand, : L’Ébénisterie Provinciale en France au XVIIIe Siècle et Abraham Nicolas Coleru, Dijon 2011, p. 48-55, fig. p. 55 bottom (comparative marquetry).
