Adam Weisweiler

Who was Adam Weisweiler?

Adam Weisweiler was a pre-eminent French master cabinetmaker 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 David Roentgen's workshop. He was in Paris before1777, when he married Barbe Conte, and was received maître 26 March 1778. Thus all pieces bearing his stamp post-date that event.

Weisweiler worked notably for the marchands-merciers, who alone could supply him with the Japanese lacquer panels that, combined with ebony and refined gilt-bronze, characterise some of his finest work. Through Dominique Daguerre he supplied the writing table of steel, lacquer and ebony and gilt-bronze for Marie Antoinette at the château de Saint-Cloud in 1784. Through Daguerre again he provided furniture for the Prince Regent at Carlton House, London. Weisweiler specialised in small refined pieces, with fine lines, delicate legs with light interlaced stretchers, and gilt-bronze low-relief plaques and mounts, some provided to him by Pierre Gouthière through Daguerre, often decorated with panels of Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain plaques, even panels of pietra dura. Pictorial marquetry is not found in his output. Alvar González-Palacios, in demonstrating that the Weisweiler lacquer suite consisting of a pair of drop-front secretary desks and a commode, from the Wrightsman collection now at the Metropolitan Museum, had been sold by Daguerre c1790 for the king of Naples' cabinet at Caserta, observes that it would be more accurate to say that they are in the manner of Daguerre rather than that they are typical of Weisweiler.