Before leaving this period of French furniture, when so much marquetry work was done of unsurpassed beauty and of unrivalled technique, a word may be said as to the number of woods used. Oeben and Riesener and their contemporaries used many foreign woods, of which the names are unfamiliar. Mr. Pollen, in his "South Kensington Museum Handbook to Furniture and Woodwork," has given the names of some of them, which are interesting as showing the number of woods especially selected for this artistic cabinetmaking. Tulip-wood is the variety known as _Liriodendron tulipifera_. Rosewood was extensively used, and holly (_ilex aquifolium_), maple (_acer campestre_), laburnum (_cytisus Alpinus_), and purple wood (_copaifera pubiflora_). Snake-wood was frequently used, and other kinds of light-brown wood in which the natural grain is waved or curled, presenting a pleasant appearance, and obviating the use of marquetry (_see_ "Woods used," p. 29). In the great collections to which reference has been made, in well-known pieces made by Riesener his name is found stamped on the panel itself, or sometimes on the oak lining. The large bureau in the Wallace Collection (Gallery xvi., No. 66) is both signed and dated "20th February, 1769." This piece, it is said, was ordered by Stanislas Leczinski, King of Poland, and was once one of the possessions of the Crown of France. [Illustration: _By permission of Messrs. Waring._ LOUIS XVI. RIESENER COMMODE.] With regard to the cost of pieces of furniture by the great master _ebenistes_, it is on record that a secretaire which was exhibited at Gore House in 1853, and made originally for Beaumarchais by Riesener, cost 85,000 francs, a sum not much less than L4,000. Celebrated copies have been made from these old models. The famous cabinet with mounts by Gouthiere, now in the possession of the King, was copied about twenty-five years ago for the Marquis of Hertford, by permission of Queen Victoria. The piece took years to complete, and it is interesting to have the evidence of its copyists that the most difficult parts to imitate were the metal mounts. This replica cost some L3,000, and is now in the Wallace Collection. The copy of the famous bureau or escritoire in the Louvre, known as the "Bureau de St. Cloud," was made by permission of the Emperor Napoleon III., and cost L2,000. Another copy of the same piece exhibited at the French International Exhibition was sold for L3,500 to an English peeress. Many fine copies of Riesener's work exist, and in the illustration (p. 197) a copy is given of a handsome commode, which exhibits his best style under the influence of his master, Oeben. RECENT SALE PRICES.[1]