A late Louis XV blackened pearwood, lacquered wood, and gilt bronze inkstand, circa 1770, attributed to Philippe-Claude Montigny

Probably collection of the Dukes of Bedford, Woburn Abbey

F. Quéré, « L’ébéniste Philippe-Claude Montigny », L’Estampille L’Objet d’Art, avril 2007, p 68

A. Pradère, Les ébénistes français de Louis XIV à la révolution, Paris, 1989, p304, fig. 342

Montigny produced several inkstands, varying the gilt-bronze decorations. Some feature a frieze of Vitruvian statues (Christie's, London, December 12, 1996, lot 131). The decoration of this inkstand, composed of a frieze of interlacing patterns and rosettes, is typical of Montigny's production and can be found on some of his desks. The inkstands that we offer for sale seems to be the one visible on a photography of the collection of the Duke of Bedford, at Woburn Castle, on a desk and its cartonnier, with a similar decoration. 

The son of cabinetmaker Louis Montigny, Philippe-Claude Montigny became a master cabinetmaker in 1766. He specialized in the restoration of antique Boulle furniture. The Dauphin almanac described him as "one of the most renowned for furniture in tortoiseshell and silver or ebony and gilt copper." He is known as one of the principal initiators of the early Louis XVI style, with its rich ebony veneers contrasting with gilt bronze mounts.