Date: about 1715
Maker: cabinetwork by André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732)
Materials: oak, ebony, turtleshell, brass, gilt bronze, steel, enamel, paint and glass
Measurements: 311.5 x 196 x 65.8 cm
Inv. no. F429
From the midst of this marquetry monolith, a clock emerges. Three gilt-bronze cherubs cavort about its face, each of them speaking to the theme of time. Two perch on a ledge, one with an owl, symbolic of night, and one with a torch, symbolic of day, while another flutters above, scattering rose petals, alluding to Aurora, the goddess of dawn.
Below, two more cherubs clutch trophies of musical instruments and a whiskered Father Time pout. On his head rests a gothic hourglass, a reminder from Boulle of our mortality, as well as the origins of timekeeping.
Boulle developed his wardrobe model over the course of his career, and this extraordinary piece is an ingenious evolution of three earlier examples in the Collection (F61, F62, F63).
The cabinetmaker drew on a rich seam of visual sources for inspiration, and a number of his surviving drawings relate to the wardrobe.
These include sketches for a pediment, which shares the distinctive cartouche that frames the clock face, and a regulator, which resembles the central case that contains the weight-driven movement made by Pierre Gaudron.
Established in the Faubourg Saint-Germain in western Paris, Gaudron was a leading clockmaker who frequently worked with Boulle and later became the official supplier to the duc d’Orléans.
He had a keen intellectual curiosity and assembled a considerable collection of books on scientific and philosophical subjects, yet was refused admission to the Royal Academy of Science because he was considered a craftsman.
Instead, he became a member of Société des Arts and gave a notable lecture on one of his horological creations.
The wardrobe is one of the very few pieces of furniture that can be firmly attributed to Boulle, as it was recorded in his workshop in 1715, when it was handed over to his sons.
Originally one of a pair, the Wallace Collection piece was made in contre-partie marquetry, while the other, which was broken up in the 19th century, was made in première-partie.
Such a large and sumptuous commission, employing large quantities of costly ebony and turtleshell, indicates that it was intended for a wealthy and discerning patron.
Although they have not been identified with certainty, inventory descriptions, as well as heraldic lions on the wardrobe’s key, suggest it may have been the marquis de Méréveille, an influential politician and a counsellor to the Paris Parliament.
At some point in the late 18th century, the plinth on which the wardrobe currently sits was added. It was acquired by the 4th Marquess of Hertford, probably in England, by 1870, when it was inventoried in a drawing room at Hertford House.