Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843) was born in Normandy into a large peasant family, at the beginning of the 19th century became a privileged supplier to the court of Napoleon I, a famous businessman and craftsman who carried out a wide range of orders: for the production of gold and silver items, toiletries and caskets, pieces of furniture made of ebony and mahogany.
In 1788, having received the profession of a turner and carpenter, he sold the inherited house and bought a workshop and store in Paris on Rue Saint-Honoré. From now on, he is a “meter-tablet” - a cabinetmaker, cabinetmaker, who made small pieces of furniture, dressing tables and jardinieres, fans, snuff boxes, bonbonnieres, boxes, buttons, cases for pencils, toothbrushes, combs and accessories for various games: dominoes , backgammon, chess, dice, made from expensive types of wood, ivory, tortoise shell and other materials.
In 1789, a year after the wedding, Bienne remained a widower with his daughter and remarried Marie-Anne Gaudin, who gave birth to 5 daughters. It is not known how he survived the years of the revolution, but he probably did not suffer, because in 1795 he bought a beautiful house. From that time on, his commerce, the emblem of which was a monkey sitting in front of a gaming table, was well established.
The master became famous for creating compact, roomy, comfortable toiletries, which included toiletries and writing utensils, dinnerware, and tea and coffee sets. He hired silversmiths to make items for toiletries. Thus, he ordered silver toiletries from his neighbor on the Rue Saint-Honoré Marie Joseph Gabriel Genu, and silverware from Lorillon or Naudin.
It is believed that he provided travel bags on credit to Bonaparte and several officers leaving for the Italian campaign in 1796. When Bonaparte returned from the Egyptian campaign, Bienne agreed, unlike other merchants, to fulfill a large order for the general, without asking about the timing of payment. He supplied many elegant items for the apartments of the flirtatious Josephine and became her favorite craftsman. Napoleon did not forget this service, and soon Bienne became the official supplier of the First Consul, the Bonaparte and Beauharnais families, the entire new aristocracy, and later the imperial court of France and the kings of Holland and Westphalia. The monkey in the emblem gave way to an antique architectural composition in the “Percier style.”
An impressive enterprise, employing up to 180 workers, produced objects based on the drawings of Percier and Fontaine. They shaped Bienne's style, reflecting the tastes of the era. They were answered by strict forms imitating antique ones, complemented by round sculpture, decor that emphasized the architectonics of the object, ribbons of relief decoration, often on a matted background, standing out on polished surfaces, and ornamental motifs borrowed from ancient art.
Bienne became one of the main suppliers of state awards, including the Order of the Legion of Honor, and ceremonial edged weapons - swords, swords and sabers. The owners of weapons of his work were Napoleon, his brother Jerome, Eugene Beauharnais, Murat.
For the coronation of Napoleon in Notre-Dame Cathedral in 1804, Bienne restored historical relics of the kings of France who were spared by the revolution - the so-called “honneurs de Charlemagne” - spurs, sword and scabbard, scepter. The "hand of justice" crown and staff were remade using parts from other pieces and antique cameos and intaglios. In addition to them, Bienne fulfilled the order for the production of imperial regalia - a golden crown made of laurel leaves, a scepter, a sphere, as well as a chain of the Order of the Legion of Honor, a cord for the emperor's cap, as well as staffs and swords of participants, two round dishes for donations. For Napoleon's coronation as King of Italy in 1805, Bienne created a scepter and baton.
At the end of his career, in the early years of the Restoration, Biennais worked mainly for a foreign clientele.
In 1819, Biennais suddenly decided to leave the company, passing the hand to one of his main collaborators. He spent his last years in La Verrière, his country residence.[4] Biennais died at his home in Paris on March 27, 1843, at the age of seventy-eight, surrounded by his children.
