273. 273W A Transition period rectangular flat desk, attributed to Philippe-Claude Montigny (1734-1800), in amaranth veneer with rosewood inlay and Greek frieze decoration, ormolu ornamentation, circa 1770. A late Louis XV ormolu-mounted amaranth and tulipwood banded bureau plat attributed to Philippe-Claude Montigny (1734-1800), circa 1770 The rectangular green leather-lined top with ormolu border above a recessed panelled frieze with stylised Greek key motif and foliate rosettes, opening with two drawers and two leather-lined slides, above square tapering canted legs headed by ormolu swagged chutes and terminating in faceted sabots, unstamped, with two brands to the underside inscribed 'COLLECTION GEORGES HEINE', 130cm wide, 64.5cm deep, 76.5cm high (51in wide, 25in deep, 30in high). Provenance Georges Heine Collection. Ader-Picard, Palais Galliera, 23 March 1971, lot 113. Philippe-Claude Montigny, master in 1766. This elegant bureau plat with its distinguished 'Etruscan' ornamentation and Greek key-inlaid friezes, epitomises the understated neoclassicism taste of the 1760s and 1770s. It was executed in the 'Goût Grec', a style which was flourishing when these were made in circa 1770. The earliest evidence of this specific style are the designs, which were produced as a collaborative project by the architect Louis-Joseph le Lorrain and Simon-Philippe Poirier, a contemporary marchand mercier, for the famous suite of furniture supplied around 1755 to the amateur Ange-Laurent Lalive de Jully's hotel particulier in Paris. This commission included many important pieces, but of particular note were the celebrated bureau plat and cartonnier which are now located at the Musée Condé, Chantilly. The present bureau plat belongs to a well known group of closely related writing desks historically recorded 'bureaux à la Greque' by the ébénistes, Philippe-Claude Montigny (1734-1800) and Jacques Dubois (1694-1763), sometimes stamped by one or other of these two figures, or even on occasion stamped by both. Most frequently these were, as with the above, veneered in amaranth combined with tulipwood. Such bureaux plats perfectly exemplify the highest quality output made as a result of the kind of strong working relationship that doubtless must have existed between these two renowned cabinet makers. A table of this type, stamped Montigny, which incorporates the distinctive Greek key pattern inlay, is illustrated in A. Pradere, Les Ebenistes Français de Louis XIV à la Revolution, 1989, fig.344, p.306. Among many related bureau plats 'à la Greque' sold in the last few decades, one attributed to Montigny sold Bonhams New Bond Street, London, 12 July 2023, lot 62. Georges Heine Georges Heine belonged to one of those wealthy European families who made their fortune in banking, and who throughout the 19th century were able to acquire masterpieces of Decorative Arts to furnish their vast residences, as did the Rothschilds, David-Weill, Hottinguer, Camondo, Fould and Jacquemart-André. Georges Heine's father, Michel Heine was with his brother, the founder of the family Heine bank, born from the takeover of the Fould bank. Michel Heine married Amélie Miltenberger and they had three children: Alice, future Duchess of Richelieu and subsequently Princess consort of Monaco, Paul-Henri and Georges. In 1877, Michel bought Alice and the Duke of Richelieu the Richelieu Estate. In 1890, Michel Heine was appointed Regent of the Banque de France while in 1914, his son Georges succeeded Edouard Aynard. It is in 1904 that Alice and her brother Georges Heine inherited their father's collection which furnished his hôtel particulier of Avenue Hoche in Paris. In 1928, Georges Heine died at the Domaine de Richelieu leaving his collection to his 9 years old son, Robert Heine born in 1919. To protect Robert's inheritance, a part of his collection was deposited on loan at the Palais de Compiègne and at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, with the idea that it would be safely kept until after his majority, and then later enjoyed by Robert Heine at his home on Avenue Marceau in Paris. It is finally on 23 March 1971 that the collection was to be sold by Ader-Picard at Palais Galliera in Paris.