Jean-Chrysostome Stumpff (1731-1806) Sauteuse chest of drawers with marquetry decoration, Transition Louis XV-Louis XVI period
An elegant "sauteuse" chest of drawers with a slight central curve, opening with two drawers without a crossbar. Our chest of drawers in "Butterfly Wing" Rosewood veneers, green-tinted Sycamore Greek-style fillets, oak frame.
Beautiful ornamentation of bronzes in their original gilding, such as ram-headed falls, Acanthus-leaf sabots, knotted lock escutcheons and flower falls, apron decorated with flowers and capitals. The rounded uprights, inlaid with false fluting in Amaranth, end in long, slightly curved legs and support a beautiful Grey veined marble top (later).
A fine Parisian work from the Transition Louis XV-Louis XVI period circa 1775, stamped on the front left upright with J. Stumpff and the JME cabinetmakers' hallmark.
Sizes: Height 34.64 In. - Width 44.48 In. - Depth 20.47 In.
In excellent condition. Varnished in our workshops. Beautiful later marble top.
Biography:
Jean-Chrysostome Stumpff, born in Schweigern (Swabia) in 1731, died in Paris on January 17, 1806.
He lived in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in 1760, when he was married in the chapel of the Swedish Embassy, with his friend Ferdinand Schwerdfeger as best man. He then established himself as a free-lance craftsman on rue Saint-Nicolas, near rue de Charenton, where he continued to work after being admitted to the master's program on August 27, 1766. He was still practicing in 1791.
His J. STUMPFF stamp can be found on numerous works in rosewood veneer and Far Eastern lacquer, with geometric marquetry. What made this cabinetmaker famous was an original trompe l'oeil marquetry simulating small cubes and crosses in relief, which was a huge success in 1770.
Stumpff's regular use of Greek filleting is also noteworthy. His Louis XV furniture is quite rare, while his work in the Transition Louis XV-Louis XVI and Louis XVI style is always of excellent workmanship.
At the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs held at the Champs-Élysées in 1882, a small half-moon piece of furniture bearing this imprint appeared.
Bibliography and Reference:
Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIème Siècle – Pierre Kjellberg – Les Éditions de l’Amateur – 2008.
Les ébénistes du XVIIIème siècle – Comte François de Salverte – Les éditions d’Art et d’Histoire – 1934.
