The intimate boudoir

Louis XVI desk and dressing table

The Danish Louis XVI desk and dressing table is believed to be the work of master cabinetmaker Johan Joakim Pengel (1752–1819) of Copenhagen, or from his workshop, around 1796. The piece is made of mahogany, lemonwood and birch and has opening leaves with inlaid coloured wood depicting flowers and foliage. There is also a writing leaf and a mechanical cartonnier with small drawers and compartments that can be raised and lowered. The front has a false drawer and a real drawer for toiletries, under which are jalousie doors and tapered legs with brass sabots. 

The Intarsia work may have been done at the Roentgen workshop in Neuwied and then imported to Copenhagen. Currently, four works signed by Pengel are known: two very attractively produced dressing tables and two bureaus. The desk and dressing table up for sale is styled to an English design. Pengel copied both the shape and the ingenious fittings from “The Cabinet-Makers’ London Book of Prices”, published in 1793. Similar pieces can be seen at The National Museum of Denmark, the Danish Museum of Art & Design and Rosenborg Slot castle, Copenhagen.

The dressing table up for auction belonged to Danish artist Christian Zarthmann (1843–1917) and has remained in his family’s ownership ever since.

Russian silver dressing table mirror

Another item at the international auction at Bredgade is a large Russian silver dressing table mirror, crowned with the Russian coat of arms of the princely house of Gagarin or Hilkov. The mirror was made by Carl Boianovski of St. Petersburg in 1853. It is stamped with the Russian double-headed eagle, a sign of the silversmith’s status as Purveyor to the Imperial Court. The mirror was acquired from the estate of Baroness Gyldenstjerne, Denmark, in the late 1960s.

Intimacy in the home

Historically, the boudoir was the most private room of fine ladies, for relaxation, personal care and dressing. This intimate space was often an extension of the bedroom, but at times was also used for leisure activities such as embroidery, as a private dining room and as a venue for romantic trysts. Accordingly, the boudoir was furnished to suit its function – from the exclusive personal space to the erotic love-nest.

Preview: Thursday 24 February – Monday 28 February 2011.
Auction: Wednesday 2 March 2011.

Read more about the international auction here