Martin Carlin and the Darnault brothers

German-born Martin Carlin worked all his life in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, in particular for the Paris merchants Simon-Philippe Poirier, Dominique Daguerre, and the Darnault brothers. At the Darnaults' request, he made all the japanned furniture for Mesdames at the château de Bellevue. Madame Victoire's commode and corner cupboards feature several of his recurring themes, such as tapered legs. This commode is much more luxurious than that of Madame Adélaide, owing to the quality of the lacquer and the bronze decoration, which consists of flower garlands, fruits, foliage scrolls, wreaths of flowers and ribbons, fleurs de lys, and astonishing colonnettes called "chinoises". This commode and matching corner cupboards attest to the delicateness of Carlin's craftsmanship and to his collaboration with the Darnault brothers.

Japanese lacquer

Chinese and Japanese lacquered furniture was all the rage during the eighteenth-century reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. Merchants imported chests and screens from Asia to sell them in Europe. Then they thought of taking them apart, recovering the lacquered sheets, and having cabinetmakers adapt them to Western furniture. One such craftsman was Martin Carlin. He made Madame Victoire's commode, which is overlaid with five lacquered panels from Japan (three on the front and two on the sides) of known origin. They were on a lacquer cabinet in the Duke d'Aumont's collection that was sold in 1782 to the Darnault brothers, two merchants who asked Martin Carlin to make the commode.