NARRATOR: The black-and-gold lacquer commode in this room, and the matching secretary on the opposite wall, have been called the most famous pieces of 18th-century furniture outside France. Marie Antoinette commissioned them and another piece, now lost, from the eminent cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener. They were for her grand cabinet intérieur at Versailles. There, she displayed a collection of Asian lacquer boxes inherited from her mother, the late Austrian Empress Maria Theresia. She must have asked Riesener to embellish the pieces here with Japanese lacquer to match her mother’s prized collection. Asian lacquer had long enthralled Europeans, with its lustrous black surface poetically sprinkled with gold. The lacquer here probably came from an older piece imported from Japan. And only a skilled cabinetmaker like Riesener could remove the existing lacquer panels, then bend them to the curved surface of these newer pieces without splitting them. The commode and secretary . . .

DANIËLLE KISLUK-GROSHEIDE: . . . have been decorated with the most beautiful gilt bronze mounts that you will ever encounter. NARRATOR Curator Daniëlle Kisluk-Grosheide.

DANIËLLE KISLUK-GROSHEIDE: All these swags of flowers, the little ribbon handles were created by special metalworkers. . . . And have been placed on top of the surface really functioning as the jewelry to these pieces of furniture.

NARRATOR: Take a moment here. And don’t forget to notice Marie Antoinette’s monogram in the top frieze, encircled by luxuriant floral sprays. To hear about Marie Antoinette and Riesener, press play.