The first major book on Riesener, one of the greatest French
cabinet-makers of all time.
Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806) was one of the greatest French
cabinet-makers of all time, supplying the court of Louis XVI and
Marie-Antoinette and furnishing royal and aristocratic houses. His
pieces are of exquisite design and superb workmanship, using the most
costly materials throughout and becoming a byword for all that is
admired in French furniture worldwide.
This first major monograph on Riesener traces his career in
pre-revolutionary France, highlighting his work as the most celebrated
cabinet maker of the Louis XVI period and focusing on the enduring
appeal of his furniture through the nineteenth century and beyond. Based
on the extensive collections of the Wallace Collection, Waddesdon Manor
and the Royal Collection it is fully illustrated with new photography
and includes much new research making it essential not only to art
historians and collectors, but also to decorative arts enthusiasts and
lovers of fine furniture.