Small Four-Leaf Screen, Louis XV Period

Rare small four-leaf screen in rosewood called "Chinese style". The lower part has an interlaced geometric openwork decoration. The uprights and crosspieces are discreetly molded. Each leaf offers a fabric-trimmed panel that can be adjusted independently in height thanks to a pull button on each of them. The four leaves are foldable thanks to brass hinges.
Red silk upholstery with motifs of vases decorated with flowers and arabesques on one side and plain green pleated silk on the other.
Attributed to RVLC
Louis XVI period
Usual restorations, modern upholstery
One leaf: H. 97 x W. 52.5 cm

During our research on this charming screen, we discovered that a few similar works circulated in very prestigious interiors and that a real confidential production was developed. In 1785, Simon Philippe Poirier delivered to Madame du Barry a screen that corresponds exactly to the description of the work in our study (cf. Wildenstein in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1862, vol. II, p. 365-377). When Louis XV died, Madame du Barry took it with her to her castle in Louveciennes. The Hôtel de la Marine exhibits a screen identical to the one in our study. On the other hand, another identical screen is illustrated in the book by Guillaume Anneau and P. Devinoy "Le meuble léger en France" and was in the former collection of Serge Roche.
A similar screen was thus inventoried at the Château de Chanteloup, property of the Duke of Choiseul, and a high place of culture and art. This screen was then put up for sale at Piasa on March 26, 1999.
Furthermore, a screen also similar to ours and attributed to Jean-François Leleu was sold under lot 78 on June 15, 1985. Another one reproduced in the book by Pierre Verlet Les meubles français du XVIIIe siècle is stamped Canabas and is kept at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Lyon. Finally, a screen close to ours that is part of the former Fabius collection was sold at Sotheby's on October 26, 2011 under lot 12.
Furthermore, in addition to the comparison with the production of small screens, it It is important to emphasize the original character of these. First of all, its style makes it enter the category of small, very luxurious flying pieces of furniture, placed in delicate and intimate apartments. This piece of furniture, also referring to the Anglo-Chinese taste, demonstrates the fascination of 18th century men for the Orient.
Note the finesse of the lines of the lower part. This decoration, both complex in its design, but simple by the unique use of rosewood, makes it an avant-garde piece of furniture in its aesthetics. The cutting details of the uprights and crosspieces, the discreet moldings make this piece of furniture a "large piece of furniture". The ingenuity of its design is also to be emphasized: each leaf moves in both directions, the four panels offer a trim rising according to your desires. The wood therefore highlights the beauty of the fabric used as trim like a painting.
The cabinetmaker to whom we attribute this work is Roger Vandercruse (known as La Croix, known as RVLC). He was accepted as a master cabinetmaker in 1755. He quickly made furniture in the Chinese style, having understood that the court, of which he was one of the main suppliers under Louis XV, was fond of its exoticism. We can thus mention the drop-leaf secretary sold at Christie’s on July 10, 2014 (lot 54), which illustrates this taste. He is one of the great names in French cabinetmaking of this period.

Ref: 7QL5J3LX2O