Room and in Gallery 18, and are described in order of their arrangement. Aside from the pictures, all the other objects exhibited in Gallery 17 are French and display the perfection of finish attained by workmen of that nationality in the eighteenth century, a perfection sought for in all phases of the life of the time and often achieved with brilliant success. The FURNITURE in the Morgan Collection is particularly noteworthy because of the significant part played by the cabinet-makers in the history of the period, and the remarkable technical skill exhibited in these masterpieces of joinery. The individual productions of the great workmen of the time were rightly looked upon as works of creative art of a high order, and the makers enjoyed the patronage and protection of the King and the nobility, who vied with one another in acquiring examples of contemporary cabinet-making. The EBENISTES as the cabinet-makers were called, worked in conjunction with the metal chasers, or CISELEURS, who made mounts in ormolu, that is, chiseled and gilded bronze, with which the inlaid furniture was further decorated. The EBENISTES and to a less extent the CISELEURS signed their works as a painter signs a picture, and many of the pieces in the Morgan Collection bear the names of celebrated artisans of the time, including Riesener, Boudin, Dupré, Carlin, Burb, Joseph, Montigny, and Pasquier. The most notable, although the latest, examples of furniture in this room and in the collection are the MARQUETERIE SECRETAIRE and the COMMODE, placed in the center of the north and south walls respectively. These two pieces, together with a writing-table now in the possession of Baron Rothschild in England, formed a set once the property of the Duke of Hamilton, but originally constructed for the private apartments of Marie Antoinette at St. Cloud. They were made in 1791 by the most famous artist in wood of his day, J. H. Riesener, who signed and dated both secretaire and commode. The beautiful mounts in ormolu, with which the pieces are further decorated, have long been attributed to Gouthière, but may possibly be the work of Thomire, who share between them the honor of being the best-known ciseleurs of the late eighteenth century. These two pieces are among the finest and most celebrated specimens of French furniture ever produced and excel in quality any pieces of Louis Seize work remaining in France. The TALL CLOCK on the southeast wall deserve attention as being a remarkable piece of mechanism in a fine and characteristic case. The works are by Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807), a famous inventor and maker of clocks and astronomical instruments, and the author of various works on horology. The case is ornamented with bronzes executed, after designs of the sculptor Clodion, by Philippe Caffieri, of a distinguished family of metal workers. Around the wall is a set of TWO SOFAS and TWELVE CHAIRS in the style of Louis XV, which came from the collection of the Kings of Denmark, to whom they are said to have been presented by the French monarch. This furniture is upholstered in characteristic tapestries made at the royal manufactory of Beauvais in the middle of the eighteenth century, the set being an admirable example of the decorative furniture coverings which formed an important part of the product of that factory. The CARPET in the center of the room was made at the Savonnerie, another state-subsidized institution which produced velvet-piled carpets largely for the court. Also in the center are three CHINESE VASES set in French mounts of ormolu, standing on a table which dates from the earlier years of the eighteenth century. Placed on tables and commodes in this gallery and the next are distinguished examples of the graceful and carefully finished SCULPTURE produced by the French artists during the eighteenth century. In Gallery 17 the most noteworthy are the two small PAINTED PLASTER BUSTS standing on the secretaire of Marie Antoinette, already described. These are by JEAN-ANTOINE HOUDON (1741-1828), and represent the sculptor's two children. One bust bears the seal placed there by its author when he exhibited the work in the Academy during his lifetime. The BRONZE DIANA standing near by is also attributed to him. Houdon, one of the greatest portraitsculptors of any period, was called by Congress to the |