A Fine Louis XVI Style Vernis Martin Side Cabinet

Object Description

A Fine Vernis Martin Gilt-Bronze Mounted Side Cabinet with A Marble Top, by Emmanuel Zwiener.

Stamped to the carcass beneath the marble top ‘E. ZWIENER’.

This magnificent cabinet has a shaped ‘fleur de pecher’ marble top above an acanthus cast frieze flanked by female herm figures to the angles, below is a central cupboard door inset with a finely painted vernis Martin panel depicting a Bacchanal, and enclosing three shelves; the shaped apron centred by a finely cast Bacchic mask, the legs terminating in acanthus and lion paw sabots.

French, Circa 1880.

Object History

The technique of vernis Martin was perfected by four brothers who produced what is considered to be the finest form of European japanning, lending their name to what later became a generic term. The elder brother, Guillaume (d. 1749) and Étienne-Simon (d. 1770) were granted a monopoly for producing imitations of Chinese and Japanese lacquer in 1730, which was renewed in 1744.

Vernis Martin was developed from a varnish called cipolin. It is remarkably lustrous and fine in texture and produces an array of colours ranging from greys, greens and blues and enhanced by gold dust beneath the surface producing a sparkling finish. This lengthy process requires the application of as many as forty layers to be applied to the surface, each of which is then polished to result in the required depth and finish.

This model of cabinet or ‘meuble à hauteur d’appui’ by Zwiener is illustrated in C. Payne, ‘Paris Furniture: The Luxury Market of the 19th Century’, 2018, p. 563.

The Zwiener brothers Emmanuel and Julius produced some of the most innovative luxury furniture of the late 19th century. They developed a unique style which blended the florid high rococo of the Louis XV period with contemporary Art Nouveau influences, employing the sculptor Léon Messagé who is credited with creating the naturalistic rococo designs for which Zwiener was awarded a Gold Medal at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle. Léon Messagé also designed exhibition pieces for Zwiener’s contemporary, François Linke, and it has been speculated that Linke may have worked for Zwiener when he first arrived in Paris in 1875. Therefore it is unsurprising that there are so many stylistic similarities between the furniture of Zwiener and Linke or that they are the most prized and famous Parisian ébénistes of the Belle Époque.

Object Literature

Payne, Christopher. Paris Furniture: The Luxury Market of the 19th Century, Editions Monelle Hayot (Saint-Remy-en-l’Eau), 2018; p. 563.

Mestdagh, Camille & Lécoules, Pierre. L’Ameublement d’art français : 1850-1900, Les Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris), 2010; pp. 301-305.

Payne, Christopher. François Linke, 1855-1946, The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club, (Woodbridge, UK), 2003.

Meyer, Jonathan. Great Exhibitions – London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851-1900, Antique Collectors’ Club, (Woodbridge, UK), 2006; p. 270, pls. H14; p. 299, p.302.

Object Details