Chest of drawers with writing tablet, Monbro in Paris

Superb chest of drawers with a writing desk and a door with two flaps revealing half-drawers. Superb contrasting rosewood and amaranth veneers. A profusion of finely chased bronzes with their original gilding. Carrara marble top. During the restoration by our cabinet-maker, we found the inscription inside the furniture, which corresponds perfectly to its quality: ‘Made by Jules Derumaux born in Lille in 1817, at Mr Monbro’s in Paris, rue basse du rempart n°18, 19 August 1841’. A very nice model, rare on the art market.

Size: H 96 cm x W 140 cm x D 58 cm

Monbro workshop in Paris, circa 1841.

Lit: Georges Alphonse Bonifacio Monbro, the son of a cabinetmaker and antique dealer, Monbro was born in 1807 in Paris, where he died in 1884. He took over the family business in 1838 under the name ‘Monbro aîné’; his shop was located at 18, rue Basse-du-Rempart, until he moved to the Hôtel Duon (rue du Helder) to make way for the works of Baron Haussmann. Both a restorer and a creative cabinetmaker renowned for his expertise in bronzes and antique furniture, Monbro specialised in historical styles and the reinterpretation of antique furniture at a time when copies sold better than originals. In the magazine L’Opéra in 1842, Constance Aubert recounted Monbro’s travels across France, Switzerland and Italy, scouring castles for antique furniture to resell or use as inspiration for his creations. A dealer in curiosities, furnishings, bronzes, porcelain, tapestries and sculptures, as well as a cabinetmaker, he acquired a great reputation in all these fields and opened a branch in London around 1850. A veritable museum of antiques and antiquities, the furniture from his workshops is reputed to be modern yet eclectic and historic.
Works in the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvres, the Musée Condé and the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes.