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Chiffonniere

mid-18th century
Medium/TechniqueTulipwood, gilt-bronze
DimensionsH. 30 in.; W. 16 in.; D. 14 in.
Credit LineGift of the heirs of Bettina Looram de Rothschild
Accession number2019.647
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsFurniture
Collections
ProvenanceBy 1938, Alphonse de Rothschild (b. 1878 – d. 1942) and Clarice de Rothschild (b. 1894 – d. 1967), Vienna; 1938, confiscated from Alphonse and Clarice de Rothschild by Nazi forces [see note 1]; taken to the Kunsthistorisches Museum and stored at the Central Depot, Neue Burg, Vienna; removed to the monastery of Kremsmünster and subsequently taken to Alt Aussee; recovered by Allied forces and, about 1947/1950, returned to Clarice de Rothschild, New York [see note 2]; by descent to her daughter, Bettina Looram de Rothschild (b. 1924 - d. 2012); about 1990/1992, given by Bettina Looram de Rothschild to members of her family; promised gift of the heirs of Bettina Looram de Rothschild to the MFA.

NOTES:
[1] With the Anschluss, or annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany in March, 1938, the possessions of Alphonse and Clarice de Rothschild were seized and expropriated almost immediately by Nazi forces.

[2] Many works of art stored elsewhere by the Nazis were moved to the abandoned salt mines of Alt Aussee in Austria, to be kept safe from wartime bombing. Allied troops recovered the looted artwork at the end of World War II, and established collecting points where the art could be identified for restitution to its rightful owners. In 1947 Clarice de Rothschild visited the salt mines at Alt Aussee, where she was able to identify the crates of works of art from her family’s collection, facilitating its return shortly thereafter.
Secretary
Roger Vandercruse (called Lacroix)
about 1760–65
Secretaire a Abattant
about 1850–80
Jacques Dautriche
about 1760–1770
Commode
Gilles Joubert
about 1735
Secretary and Jewel Cabinet on Stand
Bernard van Risenburgh II
about 1760
Writing Table
Pierre Macret
about 1750
Jacques Dautriche
about 1770
'Pouch' table
John McLean & Son
about 1805
Guéridon
about 1775–1780
Cabinet-on-stand
James Newton
about 1805