Set of Louis XVI Mahogany Corner Wall Shelves/Etagère attributed to Canabas
£1,850
A rare set of Louis XVI mahogany corner shelves or etagère attributed to Joseph Canabas. the shapely supports formed of pierced C and S scrolls and supporting four bow-fronted shelves. ex Lady Penn collection
Joseph Gengenbach, called Canabas (1712-1797), was one of the most important Parisian cabinetmakers of the second half of the 18th century, and is considered the grand master of small mahogany furniture. Of German origin, he moved to Paris probably in the late 1730s or early 1740s, and married in 1745. He worked for a long time as a privileged worker on rue de Charonne, becoming a subcontractor to Jean-François Oeben and Pierre Migeon. After becoming a master in April 1766, he set up his workshop on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine and rapidly expanded his business, building up a rich private clientele and collaborating with a number of leading merchants, including Bonnemain jeune and the Presle brothers. In 1769, at the time of his wife’s death, the after-death inventory mentions numerous screens, tables of all types and mahogany guéridons; while in 1797 the sale organised after the cabinetmaker’s death testifies to the prosperity of the workshop despite the revolutionary troubles; Described were “secretaries, chests of drawers, pedestal tables, desks, sliding and gliding tables, cylinder night tables, consoles, men’s and women’s toilets, chiffonnières, office armchairs and other objects, mostly in solid mahogany, decorated with copper and light woods in the best taste”.
Similar Examples
These rare shelves are to be compared firstly with those of the Christie’s New York sale, on October 26, 1995 under lot 217 and then also put up for sale at Christie’s New York, on April 20, 2007, under lot 159.
This type of shelf was rarely produced and only rare examples are known, often signed by great cabinetmakers.
A pair of shelves of the same form were sold Christies, Paris, Collection of an Amateur, 4th October 2012, lot 338 (illustrated) these were each branded with two interlaced crowned Gs on one of the rear uprights, a royal mark which is generally considered to be Palais Des Tuileries and which may help to explain the realised price of 39,400Euros!
