Louis XV furniture to highlight auction of Lady Ashburton collection

A collection of Louis XV and XVI furniture owned by Scottish nobility will be sold through a UK auction house on February 13.

Pierre Roussel Table
Many items of furniture were stamped with Roussel's mark but were not actually made by him



The collection has been consigned by the family of Lady Margaret Loch and the 2nd Baron Loch, although all of the items were formerly owned by Lady Louisa Ashburton, the second wife of Lord Ashburton. A well-known patron of the arts in the 19th century, Ashburton's furniture has been passed to the Loch family by descent.

Starring in the auction are five pieces of Louis XV/XVI furniture, which would have once been housed in Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire. The top lot among these will be a Louis XV table a rognon, which is stamped "P. Roussel" on its underside.

Pierre Roussel (1732-1782) was a well-known Parisian cabinetmaker, whose patrons included the Prince de Conde, who made several large purchases from Roussel for the Palais Bourbon and the Chateau de Chantilly.

Unfortunately, many items of furniture have been wrongly attributed to Roussel, leading to a high number of fakes on the market. However, given the present collection's remarkable provenance, the example at auction is likely to be genuine.

The auction house states that a similar example of the table sold at Christie's for £40,000 ($63,000) in 2003, and that it is therefore expecting similar results.

Also featuring is a Louis XVI table a ecrire, which has been attributed to another renowned cabinetmaker, Guillaume Kemp.

Paul Fraser Collectibles also has an outstanding selection of fine furniture for sale, including this beautiful Goncalo Alves folio cabinet from Gillows of Lancaster.

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