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Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux)

ca. 1770
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux)
  • Maker: Coffer attributed to Martin Carlin (French, near Freiburg im Breisgau ca. 1730–1785 Paris)
  • Manufactory: Porcelain plaques by Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)
  • Decorator: Eight plaques decorated by Jean-Jacques Pierre the Younger (French, active 1763–1800)
  • Decorator: One plaque decorated by Michel-Gabriel Commelin (French, 1746–1802)
  • Date: ca. 1770
  • Culture: French, Paris and Sèvres
  • Medium: Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original)
  • Dimensions: 37 1/2 x 21 3/4 x 14 1/2 in. (95.3 x 55.2 x 36.8cm)
  • Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958
  • Object Number: 58.75.41
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux), Martin Carlin French, Oak veneered with tulipwood, sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; gilt bronze, soft-paste porcelain, velvet (not original), French, Sèvres
Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux)
Martin Carlin
Sèvres Manufactory
ca. 1775
Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux), Martin Carlin French, Oak veneered with tulipwood, 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)
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1775
Bookcase, Martin Carlin French, Tulipwood and satiné on oak; glass, and gilt-bronze mounts, French, Paris
Bookcase
Martin Carlin
ca. 1785
Cabinet, Martin Carlin French, Oak veneered with tulipwood and amaranth, holly, and ebonized holly; gilt bronze, soft-paste porcelain, marble, mirror glass, silk, French, Paris and Sèvres
Cabinet
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1775–80
Writing and dressing table, Martin Carlin French, Sycamore, mahogany, boxwood, and ebony on oak; gilt bronze; brass; marble; leather, steel, French, Paris
Writing and dressing table
Martin Carlin
ca. 1785

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