In marquetry of four leaves in sycamore rhombuses and boxwood and ebony fillets, this happiness of the day opens in the lower part by two drawers and the upper part forming a bookcase rests on two drawers. The top is made of white marble with a gilt bronze belt. It rests on four tapered legs ending in gilt bronze sabots.
An identical happiness of the day is reproduced in: D. Ledoux-Lebard, le mobilier français du XIXe siècle, éd.de l'amateur, p. 150
Henry Dasson (1825-1896)
Henry Dasson was both a bronze worker and a furniture maker. He quickly showed a real talent as a draughtsman, sculptor and then cabinetmaker, and this plurality of skills placed him among the most important craftsmen and company directors of the time. The acquisition, in 1871, of Charles Guillaume Winckelsen's business and the installation in 1876 of his workshops at 106 rue Vieille-du-Temple, near the faubourg Saint-Antoine, launched his career, which was to explode at the Universal Exhibition of 1878.
He then exhibited as a bronzemaker alongside Ferdinand Barbedienne and the Susse brothers, and his furniture attracted the attention of the jury, critics and collectors. Amongst other copies and creations inspired by the Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI styles, he presented a reconstruction of the King Louis XV's desk made by two of the greatest 18th century cabinetmakers, Jean-François Oeben and Jean-Henri Riesener. In the eyes of the critics, this masterpiece places him on a par with the great craftsmen of the 18th century.
At the 1889 World's Fair, at the height of his career, Henry Dasson was awarded the Grand Prix "from an artistic point of view" for his remarkable presentation of furniture in the Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI styles.
His furniture shines by the excellence of their manufacture, and the quality of the chasing of the bronzes which testifies to a unique know-how.
