Louis XVI Mahogany Architect's Table by P. Pioniez, Paris

Small architect's table known as "à la Tronchin."*
This model opens with a drawer on the front and two side pull-outs. The quarter-round molded top tilts using a lectern system and is height-adjustable thanks to sliding racks hidden in the legs. A pivoting brass rod locks it at the desired height. The sliding crosspieces of the solid mahogany lectern are finely carved and openwork. The whole rests on four square legs decorated with fluting at the top and finished with bronze shoes and casters.

The top table is covered in gilded Havana leather with original small irons. The removable book-holding strip is made of original solid mahogany.

Beautiful Santo Domingo mahogany with very tight grains, in perfect condition, french-polished by our workshop. The underside of the crosspieces is stamped twice with P.Pioniez*

Parisian work from the Louis XVI period, circa 1780.

Dimensions:

Height: 77 cm; Width: 80 cm; Depth: 56 cm
*The Tronchin table appeared during the reign of Louis XVI. It takes its name from a Genevan physician, Théodore Tronchin (1709-1781), who published at the time works on bone diseases related to poor posture at the desk. He described the advantages of creating a table with a tilting, height-adjustable desk that would keep the back straight and thus avoid any deformity and pain, whether working sitting or standing. The innovation of this system table lies in a mechanism of sliding legs, adjustable by a rack system that allows the tabletop to be raised to the desired height. *Pierre Pioniez (Paris 1731-1790) was a Parisian cabinetmaker who became a master craftsman on August 14, 1765. He first worked as a freelance worker in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, then settled in the Marais, on Rue Michel-Lecomte. This cabinetmaker's mark is most often found on small luxury furniture. Our opinion:
While architect's tables became more widely available during the Directoire period, Louis XVI period models are much rarer, still reserved for an elite. The creation of such a table required an enormous amount of time, and under the guild law, only master cabinetmakers could produce such a piece of furniture before the Revolution. They must therefore be distinguished from the early 19th-century models, which were produced in large numbers and often of inferior quality. Our table offers rather rare assembly qualities, with smooth operation and a rather ingenious rotating rod system that easily locks the top table at the indicated height. Its designer, Pierre Pioniez, had built a solid reputation, and all the notices concerning him pay tribute to the quality and preciousness of his creations. In addition to the ingenuity of the system, the state of preservation, and the quality of the wood chosen, the small size of our table is a significant asset.