Rococo of the North

 

Furniture designs are rich and very tangible examples of cultural heritage. Their shapes have always challenged human imagination and creativity. Some epochs have been characterised by simple, restrained styles while others have featured rich decoration. An example of the latter is Rococo, a style that gained prominence in Denmark in the 1730s and exerted great influence within furniture crafting in Denmark until the 1770s. Rococo drew inspiration from the imported oriental arts and craft that arrived in Europe at the time. A refined, curvilinear and often asymmetric style, Rococo artefacts are often embellished with seashells, floral decorations and foliage, which indeed also characterises the current examples on auction.

The Løvenborg secretary

One of the highlights of the auction is a Danish Rococo secretary from the mid-1700s. Rendered in walnut, it is richly embellished with foliage and asymmetric rocailles – one of the principal features of Rococo furniture designs.

For many years, this secretary adorned the chambers at the Løvenborg Manor near the town of Holbæk and later came into the possession of Ulla Gregaards (1925-2009), an ardent antique collector. Married to Peer Gregaard, who was director of Det Ny Teater and later the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Ulla Gregaard was a noted figure within Danish theatre for a great number of years. A life-long collector, she purchased European antiques both in Denmark and on her numerous journeys to European capitals.

Royal cabinetmaker Mathias Ortmann

The auction also features a number of other Danish Rococo furniture pieces, such as a chest of drawers signed by cabinetmaker to the Royal Danish Court, Mathias Ortmann (ca. 1700-1757), who authenticated its provenance with the following inscription:

”Hos Sr. M. Ortmann boende udi Gotters Gaden bliver alle Sorter Cabinet og Snedker Arbeide forfærdiget for en Civil Pris i Kiöbenhavn”.
(At Mr M. Ortmann’s, who dwells in Gotters Gade, all kinds of cabinetmaking and crafting is executed for a civil price in Copenhagen.)

There area additionally five Rococo commode of which one can with certainty be attributed to the royal cabinetmaker in mention whereas the remaining can be determined as having been crafted in the style of Mathias Ortmann.

Mathias Ortmann was a pioneer within Rococo in Denmark and his furniture is of such exquisite quality that it represents the finest within Northern European Rococo. He was born to the craft and became an apprentice at his father’s rapidly expanding workshop in Nyhavn, supplier of furniture to, among other places, Charlottenborg Palace, the residence of brother of King Frederik IV, Prince Carl. Mathias Ortmann completed his apprenticeship in 1725, and in 1727 became a licensed cabinetmaker.

On his journeys in Europe, Ortmann discovered the benefit of signing the pieces he crafted, which many contemporary cabinetmakers refrained from doing. Having added his signature to most items he crafted, his name has achieved fame. His works are in high demand and are today rare collector’s pieces.

 

Preview: 4-8 March

Auction: 8-12 March

View the Rococo furniture here

View all the items of the auction here

Read more about the auction here