Date: about 1700
Maker: cabinetwork attributed to the workshop of André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732)
Materials: oak, walnut, conifer, ebony, turtleshell, brass, pewter, gilt bronze, steel, silk and silver thread
Measurements: 37.7 x 61.8 x 39.5 cm (coffer) and 84.5 x 70.5 x 52.4 cm (stand)
Inv. no. F412
Date: about 1760
Maker: France
Materials: oak, conifer, ebony, turtleshell, brass, gilt bronze, steel and velvet
Measurements: 35.5 x 61.8 x 39.8 cm (coffer) and 83.5 x 71 x 52.8 cm (stand)
Inv. no. F411
Although seemingly a pair, these coffers were produced some 60 years apart and have separate histories.
It is not yet known where the 4th Marquess of Hertford acquired the coffers, but by the time of his death in 1870, one (F412) was inventoried at his Parisian apartment in the rue Laffitte, while the other (F411) was inventoried at Hertford House in London, indicating they were probably acquired from different sources.
On close inspection, differences can be detected between the coffers, especially in their construction and marquetry, which does not correspond and is richer on the earlier coffer attributed to Boulle’s workshop (F412).
This was altered at some point in the 19th century by the addition of a crowned vase to the stand’s stretcher. Following Hertford’s death and France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), Richard Wallace transferred much of his likely father’s collection to Hertford House.
He set about extending the building to accommodate the collection, and while works were underway, loaned a large group of objects to an exhibition in Bethnal Green (1872–5).
The exhibition catalogue noted the crowned vase, which was understood to indicate royal provenance, suggesting that Wallace was unaware it was a relatively recent addition.
However, to make the coffers on stands a pair, he had a corresponding vase added to the other coffer on stand (F411) at some point before 1873, as before then it is depicted in illustrations by Édouard Lièvre without the ornament.
This alteration was probably carried out by Henry Dasson (1825–1896), as around 1878 he made two Boulle-style tables for Sir Richard Wallace, one of which is known to have had an identical vase on its stretcher.
This later coffer was produced around 1760, some 30 years after Boulle’s death in 1732, a period marked by considerable interest in Boulle furniture and a strong market for copies and pastiches. Numerous examples of such coffers survive.
At the time of their production and in Boulle’s workshop inventories, they were referred to as coffres de toilette, rather than coffres de mariage, the term used in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The term coffre de toilette reveals their role – they were used to store cosmetics and accessories associated with the toilette, a ceremony in which fashionable individuals were dressed and prepared for the day in the company of others.
Boulle’s design, with the double hinges and strapwork, evokes the shape of travelling trunks, bound with cords or leather straps, which he has reinterpreted in gilt bronze and marquetry.
Both coffers have the same overall design and arrangement of gilt-bronze mounts. Central to the front panel is the mask of Apollo, covering the keyhole.
He is flanked by two further mounts with bearded satyr masks. In the centre of the drawer at the top of the stand is another mask showing Daphne.
From her hair spring branches of laurel, identifying her as the beautiful nymph who transformed into a laurel tree to escape the affection of Apollo, as recounted by the Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses.
On the backs of the coffers, the gilt-bronze hinges are embellished with ferocious lions’ heads.
The marquetry on F412 is especially rich, incorporating not only contre-partie in brass and turtleshell, but also elements in pewter. F411, on the other hand, is in première-partie, in which turtleshell is the main component.
Boulle included a design for such coffers in his series of engravings, Nouveaux Desseins de Meubles et Ouvrages de Bronze et de Marqueterie, published around 1708.