Mahogany, blackened wood, chased and gilded bronze embroider - Lot 132

Mahogany, blackened wood, chased and gilded bronze embroidery loom. Paris, France. Consulate period. H_75 cm W_145 cm D_46 cm. Stamped G. BENEMAN As shown in the 1763 painting by François-Hubert Drouais of Madame de Pompadour (Fig. 1), the embroidery loom was indispensable to women of the time. A prized piece of furniture in the eyes of its user, it was considered a furnishing object in its own right, and its external appearance could be richly painted or varnished, or sumptuously adorned with bronzes (Fig.2). It could also be as sober as the one shown here. Mahogany was Beneman's wood of choice, and his production ranged from modest furniture for secondary apartments to luxury models for grand salons. Appointed ordinary cabinetmaker for the Mobilier de la Couronne in place of Jean-Henri Riesener, he received the protection of Queen Marie Antoinette.