Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux)

Various artists/makers

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 529

Nine nearly identical coffers on stands are known (three in the Museum's collection) that are either stamped or attributed to Martin Carlin. Working in Paris, this successful German cabinet maker specialized in making light and elegant pieces for a fashionable and distinguished clientele. On December 13, 1770, the marchand mercier (dealer in luxury good) Simon-Philippe Poirier (ca. 1729-1785), who had a virtual monopoly on the purchase of Sèvres plaques, delivered "a coffer of French porcelain on a green ground with floral cartouches, very richly embellished with gilt bronze, and its stand" to Madame Du Barry (1743-1793), mistress of King Louis XV. Since seven of the plaques have the date letter R for 1770 painted on their backs, it has been suggested that this may have been the one commissioned by Madame Du Barry.

Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux), Coffer attributed to Martin Carlin (French, near Freiburg im Breisgau ca. 1730–1785 Paris), Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original), French, Paris and Sèvres

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Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux), Coffer attributed to Martin Carlin (French, near Freiburg im Breisgau ca. 1730–1785 Paris), Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original), French, Paris and Sèvres
Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux), Coffer attributed to Martin Carlin (French, near Freiburg im Breisgau ca. 1730–1785 Paris), Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original), French, Paris and Sèvres
Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux), Coffer attributed to Martin Carlin (French, near Freiburg im Breisgau ca. 1730–1785 Paris), Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original), French, Paris and Sèvres

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