André Charles Boulle was a cabinet maker at the court of King Louis the Fourteenth of France. He became famous for developing a certain style of luxury furniture to perfection. Which explains why his name ultimately became synonymous with that kind of furniture – and still is today.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, furniture with inlay work known as marquetry was among the most valuable of all. Cabinet makers would create magnificent ornamental patterns, incorporating geometric bands and figural and floral motifs, by cutting them out of precious timbers, sheet metal and even tortoiseshell – literally the shells of tortoises. The strong contrast produced by inlaying bright golden brass or glittering silvery tin elements into a surface of dark brown tortoiseshell was entirely in keeping with the taste of the Baroque period.
A great deal of technical skill was required to produce tortoiseshell and brass veneer. The same holds true for the elaborately tooled three-dimensional brass mounts, which required a complicated production process. They were generally finished with shockingly expensive fire gilding, which guaranteed a permanent gold sheen.
Along with the furniture made of silver, the Boulle pieces were among the most prestigious furnishings with which a ruler might surround himself.
When the State Apartment was being furnished in 1719, Boulle objects made up the most important furniture grouping. Every room contained such pieces – whether in the form of clock cases or bureaus, desks or cases resting on stands. August the Strong had personally commissioned the purchase of these items of furniture in Paris, because they were “fort du goût du Roy” – very much to the king’s taste.
Take the opportunity to immerse yourself once again in the magnificent splendour of the Audience Chamber – the highlight of the State Apartment – and take in more than 300 years of history and craftsmanship.
