neoclassical russian imperial gueridon, late 18th century Attributed to Christian Meyer In stained hornbeam floral marquetry on a rosewood base, the top decorated in the centre with an allegory of a River God in the form of a reclining Old Man amidst jagged foliage scrolls, the maple, lemon and stained hornbeam edging with a motif of flowering falls au naturel, the waist opening into a drawer, the sheathed mounts with simulated fluting ending in castors. Marks on the reverse: old printed label inscribed in Cyrillic "Царскосельскаго / Дворцового Правленiя141", and numerous inventory numbers H. 70 cm (27 ½ in.) l. 86 cm (34 in.) P. 62 cm (24 ½ in.) Provenance: Delivered for the Tsarkoe Selo Palace; Very probably sold by order of the Soviet government between the late 20s and early 30s; Swiss private collection since 1935. A Russian Imperial Neoclassical floral marquetry, rosewood, maplewood, and bois citronnier gueridon, late 18th century, attributed to Christian Meyer * Information for buyers: If you are leaving the EU, you may need to obtain a CITES re-export certificate, which is the responsibility of the future buyer. * Information to buyers : For an exit from the EU, a CITES re-export certificate will be necessary, at the buyer's expense. This elegant coffee table is reminiscent of the excellent work of cabinet-makers working for the high aristocracy and the Russian imperial family in Saint Petersburg at the end of the 18th century. The superb marquetry of our piece allows us to link it to the work of Christian Meyer, rightly considered the best cabinetmaker of his time and who worked actively for the imperial court, delivering pieces for the Hermitage as well as for Château Michel, Pavlosk and Tsarkoïe Selo. Our table is characterised by a structure combining sober neoclassical lines with a very refined décor, the top being distinguished by the use of contrasting coloured veneers surrounding a central cartouche. The fine marquetry work on the top, combining extremely jagged foliage scrolls and strikingly naturalistic floral bouquets, is influenced by the work of the architect Charles Cameron (1745-1812) and the Italian Michelangelo Pergolesi, who were to be a major source of inspiration in Christian Meyer's work. Similar marquetry can be found on a number of tables supplied by Meyer for the imperial court (cfr. N. Guseva, T. Semyonova, Russian Eighteenth Century Furniture in the Hermitage Collection, The State Hermitage Publishers, 2015, p.330-348). It should also be remembered that the decoration on the belt of our table, decorated with a marquetry of stylised foliage, is found on a pair of high-legged pieces of furniture designed by Christian Meyer for the Winter Palace and illustrated in N. Guseva, T. Semyonova, Russian Eighteenth Century Furniture in the Hermitage Collection, The State Hermitage Publishers, 2015, p.374-375. The motif of the central painting on the top of our piece is framed by scrolls and ornaments that were very popular in interior decoration and that the architect Cameron used in many of his designs for Russian imperial palaces (cf. fig. 1 and fig. 2). As for the central decoration representing the allegory of a River God, most probably the Tiber or another Italian river, Meyer seems to have been inspired here by the large number of 18th century engravings illustrating this subject (see figs. 3, 4 and 5). As illustrated by the numerous inventory numbers and the label printed on the underside of our table top, it was made for the Tsarkoe Selo Palace, the summer residence of the Russian imperial family, some twenty kilometres from Saint Petersburg. The imperial estate of Tsarkoe Selo comprises the Catherine Palace, built in the mid-18th century for Empress Elisabeth by the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700-1771), and the Alexander Palace, a neoclassical residence built between 1792 and 1796. The latter was the favourite residence of the last Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, Tsarina Alexandra, and their children. The printed label, dating from between the wars, shows that the table was still in Tsarskoye Selo at the beginning of the 20th century. As for its fate after the 1917 revolution, it is highly likely that it followed the fate of many other pieces of Russian imperial furniture that left the country between 1928 and 1932 when the Soviet authorities organised mass sales of works of art.