A German Transitional Louis XV/Louis XVI Gilt-Bronze Mounted Polychrome Decorated and Black Japanned

with a black japanned and mother-of-pearl inlaid papier mâché top; lacking writing slide

height 28 in.; width 22 in.; depth 15 1/2 in.

71 cm; 56 cm; 39.5 cm

Catalogue note
This extremely rare table constructed primarily of metal can be attributed to the workshop of Johann Heinrich Stobwasser (1740-1829). Born in Thuringia, Stobwasser settled in Brunsiwck (Braunschweig) in Lower Saxony in 1763 and by 1771 had set up a factory at 16 Echternstrasse specialising the production of japanned tole, wood and papier mâché boxes, trays and small items of furniture, under the protection of Karl I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1713-1780), who had moved his Residenz from nearby Wolfenbüttel to Brunswick in 1753 and was keen to promote education and the arts in his principality, founding the Fürstenberg porcelain manufactory in 1747 and sponsoring the van Selow beadwork enterprise (see lots 88 and 97 in this auction). Objects were decorated not only with floral and ornamental motifs but also with portraits and figural groups, landscapes, architectural views and even erotic scenes. The factory quickly became successful and opened a branch in Berlin in 1773.

Stobwasser's initial focus was more on decorative objects but later expanded to include tables and case furniture. Another oval table by Stobwasser, clearly based on the work of David Roentgen in Neuwied, is in the Römisches Haus, Weimar, and a further lacquered table and a chest of drawers from the workshop are in the Städtische Museum Braunschweig (all three illustrated in H. Kreisel amd G. Himmelheber, Die Kunst des deutschen Möbels, vol. III, Munich 1973, fig.75, 76, 79). Stobwasser's furniture was also sought after by royal and noble clients, for example a mahogany secrétaire à abattant formerly in the Berlin Stadtschloss probably acquired by Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, or his son Friedrich Wilhelm III, sold Christie's London 25 April 2017, lot 161 (illustrated in D. Richter, Stobwasser, Lackkunst aus Braunschweig & Berlin, Vol. II, Müenster 2005, p.16). The Stobwasser factory was continued by the family into the 19th century and closed in 1863.