Lot 877 Dα

In contrast to the earlier works of the Roentgen workshop from the 1760s and 1770s, the late furniture emphasises pure woodwork. The forms are straightforward and simplified, the proportions remain elegant. Ornamentation gives way to pure surface effect. The pieces were covered with selected veneers, sometimes placed in opposing directions on large surfaces, such as here on the lid and the two long sides.

In the spring of 1779, David Roentgen received the title "Mécanicien privilégié du Roi et de la Reine" from the French King Louis XVI. A few months later, he moved into a property in Paris and employed Johann Gottlieb Frost (1751 - 1814) as managing director. In May 1780, David Roentgen bought the master craftsman's licence from the Parisian guild of ebenists and was then allowed to offer his own products on the Parisian market, all of which were presumably stamped with his name. However, he was not allowed to use the JME stamp, which was introduced by the Jurande des Maîtres Menuisiers Ebénistes in 1741 and would have to have been stamped next to his name.

He called his shop in the Rue de Grenelle "A La Ville De Neuwied". Ulrich Leben and Miriam Schefzyk published a business card, now lost, advertising the "Magazin des plus beaux Meubles d'Ebénisteries fait de sa Fabrique, finie à la derniere perfection; et enteprend des commandes pour toutes sortes d'Ouvrages concernant l'Ebénisteries" beneath a view of Neuwied. In December 1785, Jean Gottlieb Frost, who by then had established himself in Paris, took over the business, but had to file for bankruptcy a few years later, following the Revolution of 1789.