Style Neo-Renaissance / Ref.15800

Henri-Auguste FOURDINOIS (1830–1907) – Neo-Renaissance sideboard

This Neo-Renaissance sideboard showcases the refinement and virtuosity of the cabinetmaking skills of Henri-Auguste Fourdinois. Purveyor to a prestigious clientele, Fourdinois was regularly awarded at the Expositions Universelles. His production is renowned for the richness of its carving, the quality of its woods, and the excellence of its finishes.

At the 1867 Exposition Universelle, the jury awarded the Fourdinois firm the Grand Prix in Class XIV, Luxury Furniture. Compared with the celebrated double-bodied cabinets now in the collections of the MAD and the V&A, our piece stands out for its greater sobriety, while retaining the high-relief treatment of figures characteristic of Fourdinois. This sideboard can be dated to the period 1862–1880, the peak years of the Fourdinois workshop.

While the overall composition draws on the general organization inherited from Renaissance furniture, Fourdinois innovates in both the technical and aesthetic execution of the decoration, assembling various elements of the Renaissance vocabulary in a historicist taste that is highly representative of the 19th century. At the center of the lower register, four superimposed drawers are decorated with light-wood marquetry depicting Renaissance-style cartouches. On either side are consoles framing finely executed marquetry panels. The upper and lower registers are separated by a gadrooned frieze alternating with lion heads. Fourdinois displays his genius in the upper register: above three niches, a central cupboard closed by a brass grille is flanked by carved Renaissance-style surrounds housing muses executed in relief. This sculptural treatment is emblematic of Fourdinois’s work. The whole is punctuated by composite columns and surmounted by a cornice, with flame finials at the corners.