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''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a
cabinet-maker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...
, 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 equivalent for ''ébéniste'', "ebonist", is not commonly used. Originally, an ''ébéniste'' was one who worked with ebony, a favoured luxury wood for mid-17th century Parisian cabinets, originating in imitation of elite furniture being made in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
. The word is 17th-century in origin. Early Parisian ''ébénistes'' often came from the Low Countries themselves; an outstanding example is Pierre Gole, who worked at the ''
Gobelins manufactory The Gobelins Manufactory () is a historic tapestry factory in Paris, France. It is located at 42 avenue des Gobelins, near Les Gobelins métro station in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally established on the site as a medieval ...
'' making cabinets and table tops veneered with marquetry, the traditional enrichment of ''ébénisterie'', or "cabinet-work".


History

''Ébénistes'' make
case furniture A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (sol ...
, either veneered or painted. Under Parisian guild regulations the application of painted varnishes, generically called ''
vernis Martin In French interior design, ''vernis Martin'' is a type (or a number of types) of japanning or imitation lacquer named after the 18th century French Martin brothers: Guillaume (died 1749), Etienne-Simon, Robert and Julien. They ran a leading fact ...
'', took place in separate workshops - sawdust being an enemy to freshly varnished surfaces. During the French Revolution the guilds in Paris and elsewhere were abolished (1791), and with them went all their regulations. As one result of this, Parisian chairmakers were able to produce
veneer Veneer may refer to: Materials * Veneer (dentistry), a cosmetic treatment for teeth * Masonry veneer, a thin facing layer of brick * Stone veneer, a thin facing layer of stone * Wood veneer, a thin facing layer of wood Arts and entertainment * ' ...
ed chairs - just as London furniture-makers, less stringently ruled, had been able to make since the production of the first chairs with splats shortly before 1720, in imitation of Chinese chairs. Because of this amalgamation of trades, makers of chairs and of other seat furniture began to use veneering techniques, formerly the guarded privilege of ''ébénistes''. This privilege became less distinct after the relaxation of guild rules of the ''
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
'', and after the French Revolution's abolition of guilds in 1791. Seat furniture in the Empire style was often veneered with
mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
, and later in pale woods also. From the mid-19th century onward, the two French trades, ''ébéniste'' and ''menuisier'', often combined under the single roof of a "furnisher", and the craft began to make way for the industry. In Germany in
Frommern Balingen (; Swabian: ''Balenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, capital of the district of Zollernalbkreis. It is located near the Swabian Jura, approx. 35 km to the south of Tübingen, 35 km northeast of Villingen-Sc ...
a line of high polished production take up the ideas of the royal ''Hofebenist''Kultur
/ref> From the mid-17th century through the 18th century, a notable number of ''ébénistes'' of German and Low Countries extraction were pre-eminent among Parisian furniture-makers, as the abbreviated list below suggests.


Some 17th- and 18th-century Parisian ''ébénistes''

*
Joseph Baumhauer Joseph Baumhauer (died 22 March 1772) was a prominent Parisian ''ébéniste'', one of several of German extraction. Having worked for some years as a journeyman for the German-born ''ébéniste'' François Reizell, he was appointed ''ébéniste priv ...
* Pierre-Antoine Bellange * Guillaume Beneman * André-Charles Boulle *
Jacques-Philippe Carel Jacques-Philippe Carel () was a Parisian cabinet-maker (''ébéniste''), who was admitted to the cabinetmakers' guild in 1723 and specialized in rococo case pieces of high quality veneered in end-grain (''bois de bout'') floral marquetry. Two almo ...
*
Martin Carlin Martin Carlin (c. 1730–1785) was a Parisian ''ébéniste'' ( cabinet-maker), born at Freiburg, who was received as Master ''Ébéniste'' at Paris on 30 July 1766. Renowned for his "graceful furniture mounted with Sèvres porcelain", Carlin fed in ...
* Mathieu Criaerd * Adrien Delorme *
François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter (1770–1841) oversaw one of the most successful and influential furniture workshops in Paris, from 1796 to 1825. The son of Georges Jacob, an outstanding chairmaker who worked in the Louis XVI style and ...
*
Pierre Garnier Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
*
Antoine Gaudreau Antoine-Robert Gaudreau (c. 1680 – 6 May 1746) was a Parisian ''ébéniste'' who was appointed ''Ébéniste du Roi'' and was the principal supplier of furniture for the royal châteaux during the early years of Louis XV's reign. He is largely kn ...
*
Jean-Pierre Latz Jean-Pierre Latz (Paris, 4 August 1754 ) was one of the handful of truly outstanding cabinetmakers (''ébénistes'') working in Paris in the mid-18th century. Like several of his peers in the French capital, he was of German origin. His furniture is ...
* Jean-François Leleu * Pierre Macret *
Bernard Molitor Bernard Molitor (22 October 1755 – 17 November 1833) was a Luxembourgish cabinet-maker. Molitor grew up in Betzdorf, Luxembourg as the son of a miller and went to Paris in 1777, where one of his cousins already worked as a cabinet-maker. During ...
*
Roger Vandercruse Lacroix Roger Vandercruse Lacroix (1728–1799), often known as Roger Vandercruse, was a Parisian ''ébéniste'' whose highly refined furniture spans the rococo and the early neoclassical styles. According to Salverte, he "is counted among the great ebe ...
*
Jean-François Oeben Jean-François Oeben, or Johann Franz Oeben (9 October 1721 Heinsberg near Aachen – Paris 21 January 1763) was a German ébéniste (cabinetmaker) whose career was spent in Paris. He was the maternal grandfather of the painter Eugène Delacroix. ...
* Jean Oppenord *
Jean-Henri Riesener Jean-Henri Riesener (german: Johann Heinrich Riesener; 4 July 1734 – 6 January 1806) was a famous German ''ébéniste'' (cabinetmaker), working in Paris, whose work exemplified the early neoclassicism, neoclassical "Louis XVI style". Life and ...
*
Bernard II van Risamburgh Bernard II van Risamburgh, sometimes Risen Burgh (working by c 1730 — before February 1767) was a Parisian ''ébéniste'' of Dutch and French extraction, one of the outstanding cabinetmakers working in the Rococo style. "Bernard II's furniture is ...
*
Adam Weisweiler Adam Weisweiler (c.1750 — after 1810) was a pre-eminent French master cabinetmaker (''ébéniste'') in the Louis XVI period, working in Paris. Weisweiler is said to have been born at Neuwied-am-Rhein and to have received his early training in D ...


Later French ''ébénistes''

* Henry Dasson *
François Linke François Linke (1855–1946) was a leading Parisian ''ébéniste'' of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life Linke was born on 17 June 1855 in the small Bohemian village of Deutsch Pankraz, now known as Jítrava in the Czech Republi ...
* Louis Majorelle * Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann


German Ebenists, or Kunstschreiner

* Rudolf Gambs, St. Petersburg, Karlsruhe * Wilhelm Kimbel * Klinckerfuß Johannes (1770–1831) 1790 Württemberg * Friedrich Wirth (Entrepreneur) (1806–1883) 1857 Württemberg * Wilhelm Wirth (Entrepreneur) (1837–1917) Württemberg


''Ébénistes'' outside France

* Gabriele Capello (Turin) *
Christopher Fuhrlohg Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...
(London) *
Mathäus Funk Mathäus Funk also spelled Matthäus Funk (; 18 April 1697 - 24 September 1783) was a Swiss ebonist and cabinet maker who was primarily active in Bern, Switzerland. Many of his furniture pieces were featured in notable auctions like Lempertz or ...
(Bern) * Gerrit Jensen (London) * Georg Haupt (Stockholm) * Pierre Langlois (London) * Charles-Honoré Lannuier (New York) * Abdelkader Saaidi (Casablanca) *
Pietro Piffetti Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II C ...
(Turin) * Abraham Roentgen (Neuwied) *
David Roentgen David Roentgen (1743 in HerrnhaagFebruary 12, 1807), was a famous German cabinetmaker of the eighteenth century, famed throughout Europe for his marquetry and his secret drawers and poes and mechanical fittings. His work embraces the late Rococo ...
(Neuwied) * Decon Brodie (Edinburgh)


See also

*
List of furniture designers This is a list of notable people whose primary occupation is furniture design. A * Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) * Eero Aarnio (born 1932) * Robert Adam (1728-1792) * Thomas Affleck (1745-1795) * Franco Albini (1905-1977) * Davis Allen (1916-1999 ...
* List of furniture types * Woodworking


References

*Pierre Verlet, 1963. ''Les Ébénistes Du XVIII Siècle Français'' *Pierre Verlet and Penelope Hunter-Stiebel, 1991. ''French Furniture of the Eighteenth Century'' *G. Janneau, 1975. ''Les ateliers parisiens d'ébénistes et de menuisiers aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles'' *Alexandre Pradère, 1990. ''French Furniture Makers: The Art of the Ébéniste from Louis XIV to the Revolution'' The standard modern text.
French ébénistes of the 18th century Anticstore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebeniste Crafts Cabinetmakers Furniture-making Woodworking