Instant expert A PRIVATE collection of works by one of the finest furniture makers of his time is to be sold at auction in London this summer. Exceptional pieces of furniture like the ones on sale are always in high demand in the antiques business and will attract international interest.
Real deal EmmANuEL Beurdeley took over his family business in 1875. It was started in 1807 by his grandfather Jean Beurdeley as a curiosity shop. His father Louis Auguste had become a prominent dealer in French furniture and objets d'arts in Paris. When the business closed in 1895, most of the furniture and works of art created and collected by the Beurdeley family were sold at auction. However Emmanuel Alfred kept several of the pieces for his home in Paris. When he died in 1919 he left them to his children.Basics THE lots on offer all come from the collection of Emmanuel Alfred Beurdeley. They include a pietre dure secrtaire - a chest with a straight-fronted writing drawer - considered to be a masterpiece, which was used by Beurdeley's wife. There is also an amaranth, tulipwood and kingwood marquetry commode and a lacquer desk based on a model by Nicolas Pierre Sverin now in the Louvre.
Real deal EmmANuEL Beurdeley took over his family business in 1875. It was started in 1807 by his grandfather Jean Beurdeley as a curiosity shop. His father Louis Auguste had become a prominent dealer in French furniture and objets d'arts in Paris. When the business closed in 1895, most of the furniture and works of art created and collected by the Beurdeley family were sold at auction. However Emmanuel Alfred kept several of the pieces for his home in Paris. When he died in 1919 he left them to his children.
