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Marchand-mercier
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A
marchand-mercier[1] is a
French term for a type of entrepreneur working outside the
guild system. The term literally means a merchant of goods. In the
18th century marchands-merciers were shopkeepers but they also played an important role in the decoration of
Paris homes. In fact, they served as general contractors, designing and commissioning pieces of the most fashionable furniture, and often, in addition, worked outside of their shops as
interior decorators, responsible for many aspects of a room's decor. In Paris, the guild system, in place since the late Middle Ages, prohibited a craftsman from working with a material with which they had not undergone a formal
apprenticeship. Only a marchand-mercier who worked outside of the guild system, therefore, could mount
Chinese porcelains with
gilt-
bronze handles and stands, fit the
cabinetmaker's furniture with
Japanese lacquer or
Sevres porcelain plaques, and supply furniture with opulent gilt-bronze (or
ormolu mounts. (It should be noted however that there were certain cabinetmakers who, either by license of the king or due to their status as non-French nationals, also worked outside of the guild system.)
See also
Notes
- ^ The role of marchands-merciers, including Daguerre, has been recently analyzed by Carolyn Sargentson, Merchants and Luxury Markets: The Marchands Merciers of Eighteenth-Century Paris (Victoria and Albert Museum) 1996.
