This impressive bibliothèque, emblematic of the Louis XIV period and of the 'Boulle' marquetry technique, is an exciting addition to the oeuvre of Nicolas Sageot, characterized by neat proportions and a significant attention to minute details. A number of comparable examples all bearing the hallmarks of Nicolas Sageot's production are stamped or attributed to Sageot, and there are unmistakable similarities which bind the group together.

The attribution to Nicolas Sageot

Key characteristics within the group are the shape and arrangement of the cupboard doors, the gilt-bronze mounts and the type and design of the Bérainesque marquetry. The related examples include:

- a pair of bibliothèques, one stamped by Nicolas Sageot, sold at Christie's, New York, 13 April 2016, lot 11 ($233,000), the doors depicting as well Hercules battling the Hydra;

- one bibliothèque stamped NS for Nicolas Sageot and with Hercules battling the Hydra as well sold at Piasa, Paris, 28 June 2000, lot 138 (430,000 FF)

- two further bibliothèques with Hercules and with a roundel motif to the doors, one sold Replica Shoes 's, London, 5 July 1985, and the other sold in Paris, 4 December 1992 (ill. P. Grand, “Le mobilier Boulle et les ateliers de l'époque”, L’Estampille-L’Objet d’Art, 266, February 1993, p.55, figs. 7-8).

-a bibliothèque stamped NS sold at Christie's, London, 9 June 2011, lot 81 (£133,250);

- a further stamped pair was sold at Christie's, Paris, 13 December 2006, lot 181 (594,400 EUR).

The subject of Hercules battling the Hydra quickly appears as a key ornament in Sageot's work and a possible source for this image is an engraving by the French graveur Gilles Rousselet (1610-1686) after Guido Reni.

Nicolas Sageot (1666-c.1730)

He was born in Samaize-les Bains and appears to have become active around 1690 and is first recorded as working in the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine in 1698 where, before being accepted by the cabinet-makers guild, he had worked as an ouvrier libre. He married, in 1711, Marie Brigitte Roussel, the daughter of the ébéniste Jacques Roussel and his workshop appeared to prosper until around 1720, when he retired and sold his stock to the marchand-mercier Léonard Prieur, and to the marchand en bois Claude François Mainguet. His production seems to have principally consisted of important armoires, commodes and bureaux and he was actually one of the few cabinet-makers of his generation who occasionally stamped his furniture - however very few pieces bearing his stamp have been recorded.

In 1723 Sageot suffered a mental breakdown, he died 8 years later and his workshop did not survive.