Louis Majorelle "Pies et raisins" Buffet

Louis Majorelle’s "Pies et raisins" buffet transforms the dining room into a celebration of abundance, using nature as both its subject and its material. Its principal marquetry panels depict magpies pecking at grapevines, recalling the East Asian tradition of bird-and-flower imagery known in Japan as kachō-e. Majorelle effectively “paints” the scene with veneers rather than pigment: Gaboon ebony forms the magpies’ black plumage, amboyna burl their pale bellies, and East Indian rosewood and European walnut the grape leaves, all against a swirling thuya-burl ground. The grapes themselves are rendered in mother-of-pearl, combining iridescent green abalone (ormeau) with luminous white-lipped shell. Differences in grain, color, and reflectivity give the composition its remarkably painterly depth.

This imagery continues throughout the cabinet. Carved Virginia creeper (vigne vierge) decorates the spandrels, while the back of the cabinet is patterned with alternating ginkgo and tulip-tree leaves in pale lacewood, mahogany, and walnut; Majorelle even changes the direction of the wood grain so adjacent leaves respond differently to light. Ormolu wheat-ear handles complete this imagery of harvest and plenty. The theme is particularly appropriate to the object’s function as a buffet: its cupboards and drawers stored table linens, cutlery, serving utensils, dishes, and glassware, while its broad surface could hold serving dishes, decanters, wine bottles, fruit, and prepared foods. Majorelle therefore surrounds the provisions of the dining table with representations of vines, fruit, grain, and cultivated plants as emblems of abundance itself.