Étienne Doirat (c. 1675-1732) was a French furniture designer.

Early life

Étienne Doirat was born circa 1675.The J. Paul Getty Museum: Etienne Doirat
/ref> His family had been

ébéniste ''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiva ...

s in Paris since the early 1600s.

Career

Doirat designed "

commode A commode is any of many pieces of furniture. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has multiple meanings of "commode". The first relevant definition reads: "A piece of furniture with drawers and shelves; in the bedroom, a sort of elaborate chest ...

armoire A wardrobe or armoire or almirah is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate accommo ...

s, corner cupboards, and tables" as well as sideboards, writing desks, etc.Stéphane Castelluccio
''Le commerce du luxe à Paris aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles: échanges nationaux et internationaux''
London: Peter Lang, 2009, pp. 185-186 He used exotic wood like

amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...

, mahogany, olivetree wood, lemontree wood,

rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

, ebony, etc. Doirat stamped his name to his furniture at a time when it was not the proper way. Indeed, furniture design guilds only allowed it was late as 1743. In 1731, only one year before his death, he opened a store on the

Rue Saint-Honoré The rue Saint-Honoré is a street in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. It is named after the collegial situated in ancient times within the cloisters of Saint-Honoré. The street, on which are located a number of museums and upscale bou ...

in the

1st arrondissement of Paris The 1st arrondissement of Paris (''Ier arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le premier'' (the first). It is governed locally toge ...

. One of his commodes can be seen at the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood, Los Angeles, Brentwood neighborhood ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

.J. Paul Getty Museum: Commode
/ref>

Personal life

He married Marguerite Borel in 1704. They had seven children.

Death

He died in 1732.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doirat, Etienne 1732 deaths Furniture designers from Paris Year of birth uncertain