Date, and estimate a Louis XV commode, your dream? Authenticite Partnership revealed to you today some of the "stuff" the expert use for recognizing and assessing the value of a classic furniture.

The model studied here will be auctioned on April 1.

Type

First task of the expert: dating! The type of furniture appraised is the first indicator of dating.

You should know that the commode is a piece of furniture that is not very old. In France, during the reign of the Sun King (1638-1715) it appears for the first time. The first two commodes dated with certainty are delivered in 1708-1709 by the renowned cabinetmaker André Charles Boulle for the King's Chamber at Trianon.

Our commode therefore can not be older than the reign of Louis XIV.

Style or period

Its general shape is curve, its legs are curved, the decor is carved with rocaille, his feet are scrolled ... all these elements are characteristic of the Louis XV style, appeared in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, and was so popular that it reproduces without interruption until today.

In style, we can say that our commode has been realized after 1725.

Wood

Generally, carpenters use wood they find in their environment. Made of walnut carved molded, our commode can not come from the North of France because walnuts are generally found in the south of the Loire. You will not find walnut furniture in Normandy.

In its walnut patina by the time, in its so-called curve or tombeau but also in his carved decorations, our commode has the characteristics of work from the Lyon region.

Tools mark

To find out if our commode dates from the eighteenth century or not, the expertise is recommended but sometimes photographs from all angles are sufficient.

What is important to understand is that in the eighteenth century, the furniture is made by men wielding tools and traces of these are irregular, while in the nineteenth century, the machines are gradually replacing men leaving marks on the wood regularly.

How to mount a piece of furniture is also very different. The mortise and joints are pegged in the eighteenth and will not be stuck as in the nineteenth, which is the case with our commode from Lyon.

Mark of the passing time

Its wood, stung by the worms on the back, is another important clue. These bites, completely normal - even expected - due to the fact that our commode has been preserved close to damp walls.

However, a forger will understand these traces left by time on objects. At the expert to distinguish the hole left by the insect naturally that achieved artificially. The famous test the needle can be very useful here.

Valuation

Our commode from Lyon, if it had been style could have been estimated at around €500. Period in good condition it will be presented at auction on April 1 in the Paris region to an estimated €2,000 to €3,000.

If it had been proposed in Lyon or in the region, where the largest number of clients who may be interested in this traditional furniture are, it would certainly have been estimated at €3,000 to €5,000.

Friends from Lyon, so there is here a good deal to do!

Laurent HACHE
Expert 
 

More : our commode will be auction by maître Guillaume Le Floch at Saint Cloud.

Feel free to contact our fine art specialists if you want to appraise your works of art. We also assist you in the selling of your works of art : consultancy.