NAPOLEON III PERIOD FURNITURE WITH RAISED LEGS In blackened pearwood veneer, polychrome marble and hardstone marquetry plaques decorated with birds perched in cherry branches, brass filleting, chased and gilt bronze ornamentation, black marble top, the front opening into a door, resting on a plinth with an openwork cut-out, printed label on the back inscribed "8-5-75 REPARATEUR OBJET D'ART/HAGOP SEISSIAN/(GALERIE LOUVRE)/TEL. 326784 B.P 2178"; minor accidents. H. 125.5 cm (49 ½ in.) l. 95 cm (37 ½ in.) P. 40 cm (15 ¾ in.) A Napoleon III gilt-bronze mounted, ebonised pearwood, polychrome marbles and pietra dura inlaid meuble a hauteur d'appui, the pietra dura panels Italian and 18th century This astonishing piece of furniture is an interesting example of how elements from earlier eras were reused in the 19th century to create contemporary furniture. While the reuse of Boulle marquetry panels from the Louis XIV period in the second half of the 18th century is well known, the use of marble and hard stone marquetry elements is less well documented. Among nineteenth-century creations based on panels from previous centuries, we should mention, for example, the cabinet stamped by Alexandre-Louis Bellangé, decorated with seventeenth-century Florentine plaques, from the former Jacques Garcia collection at the Château de Champ de Bataille (cf. Sotheby's Paris sale, 16 May 2023, lot 68), or the pair of high-legged pieces of furniture designed by William Beckford in 1824, from the former Lily and Edmond Safra collection (see Sotheby's New York sale, 3 November 2005, lot 180). The cabinets in the Safra collection were made in Paris around 1825 using hardstone panels dating from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; this fashion also developed in England, where merchant dealers such as Robert Hume made the production of these precious cabinets in a flamboyant neo-baroque style one of their specialities. The English craze for marble and hardstone marquetry furniture in the 19th century is evidenced by the fact that it is over-represented in English collections, such as the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle and that of the Duke of Northumberland, whereas it was much rarer in France during the same period. *Information for buyers: Lot from outside the EU: The hammer price is exclusive of VAT. VAT at the reduced rate of 5.5% applies to the hammer price. This VAT is recoverable for French professionals. It is reimbursable for a buyer from outside the EU on presentation of proof of export from the EU or for a professional bidder providing proof of an intra-Community VAT number and a document proving delivery in the Member State. For a buyer leaving the EU, a CITES re-export certificate may be required, at the expense of the future buyer. Restrictions may apply depending on the country of destination. *Information to the buyers : Lot from outside the EU : The hammer price and premium will be VAT excluded. 5.5% VAT will be added to the hammer price and premium. Upon request, this VAT can be refunded to the purchaser on presentation of written proof of exportation outside EU, or to the EU purchaser who will submit his intracommunity VAT number and a proof of shipment to an EU country.