Circa 1880 A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED GILT AND BLACK LACQUER COMMODE

This commode of rococo style was made by Emmanuel Zwiener in Paris in circa 1880 but is inspired by the work of Bernard II van Risenburgh, known as BVRB (mâitre circa 1735), who produced a number of commodes decorated with panels of Oriental lacquer, supplying the first example of this type to the royal family in 1737 for Queen Maria Leszczynska’s use at Fontainebleau (today in the Louvre Museum , OA 11193). Other related commodes by BVRB are in the collection of the V & A Museum, the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Getty museums.

Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener was an important Parisian cabinetmaker of German origin, born in Silesia around 1849 and working in Paris from 1880 to 1895. He produced very refined furniture of impeccable execution and accompanied by high quality bronzes. He employed Leon Messager, a sculptor of immense talent. At the World Fair in Paris in 1889, he received a gold medal. By 1890, Zwiener’s fame was such that he was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II to completely refurnish the Royal Palace in Berlin. He then left France and sold his bronzes and stock to the house of Jansen. Léon Messager continued his brilliant career with François Linke. This explains why the works of the two cabinetmakers show strong similarities. The attribution to Zwiener is justified by the presence of very similar bronzes – espagnolettes and smoking cassolette.

Chinoiserie is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other Sinosphere artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre, and music. The aesthetic of chinoiserie has been expressed in different ways depending on the region. It is related to the broader current of Orientalism, which studied Far East cultures from a historical, philological, anthropological, philosophical, and religious point of view. First appearing in the 17th century, this trend was popularized in the 18th century due to the rise in trade with China (during the High Qing era) and the rest of East Asia.

As a style, chinoiserie is related to the Rococo style. Both styles are characterized by exuberant decoration, asymmetry, a focus on materials, and stylized nature and subject matter that focuses on leisure and pleasure. Chinoiserie focuses on subjects that were thought by Europeans to be typical of Chinese culture.There were many reasons why chinoiserie gained such popularity in Europe in the 18th century. Europeans had a fascination with Asia due to their increased, but still restricted, access to new cultures through expanded trade with East Asia, especially China. The ‘China’ indicated in the term ‘chinoiserie’ represented in European people’s mind a wider region of the globe that could embrace China itself, but also Japan, Korea, South-East Asia, India or even Persia. In art, the style of “the Orient” was considered a source of inspiration; the atmosphere rich in images and the harmonic designs of the oriental style reflected the picture of an ideal world, from which to draw ideas in order to reshape one’s own culture. For this reason the style of chinoiserie is to be regarded as an important result of the exchange between the West and the East. During the 19th century, and especially in its latter period, the style of chinoiserie was assimilated under the generic definition of exoticism.

The Rococo style began in France in the 1730s as a reaction against the more formal and geometric Louis XIV style. It was known as the “style Rocaille”, or “Rocaille style”. It soon spread to other parts of Europe, particularly northern Italy, Austria, southern Germany, Central Europe and Russia. It also came to influence other arts, particularly sculpture, furniture, silverware, glassware, painting, music, theatre, and literature. Although originally a secular style primarily used for interiors of private residences, the Rococo had a spiritual aspect to it which led to its widespread use in church interiors, particularly in Central Europe, Portugal, and South America.