Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Inlaid Marquetry Cabinet by Durand

By Durand

The marble top above two long inlaid floral doors which open to three adjustable wooden shelves, each corner with bronze mounts of scrolled acanthus leaves and flowers, The side panels also with inlaid floral marquetry.

Stamped “G. Durand” twice under the marble top.

Gervais-Maximilien-Eugène Durand, (1839- circa 1920) established the Maison Durand firm in 1870, producing top quality eighteenth century style furniture. The business triumphed when the firm participated in the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, obtaining a silver medal and commended as ‘un ébéniste aussi habile que modeste, qui expose pour la première fois les meubles de premier ordre, dont il est à la fois le déssinateur et l’exécutant; il marche sur la voie tracée par les maîtres tel que Beurdeley et Dasson.’ (A cabinet maker as skilled as he is humble, he is exhibiting for the first time his furnishing of the hightest standards. He designs and creates them; hi sis on the same path as the great Beurdeley and Dasson). In 1890, when Durand’s son Frédéric-Louis joined the firm, the name was changed to Durand & Fils. The firm was located at 12, rue de la Cerisaie, Paris, but subsequently moved in 1900 to 62, rue Saint-Antoine, the old hotel de Sully.