Mahogany and Japanese lacquer writing desk, Paris circa 1790

Rare writing desk in solid mahogany, citron wood, and Japanese lacquer panels.
Rectangular in shape, it simulates an ancient temple with fluted column uprights topped with spinning top feet.
It opens on the front with a large drawer at the top, a vertical flap in the middle, and two doors at the bottom.
The flap is adorned with green morocco leather with small gilt hardware and reveals a stage composed of four compartments and seven drawers, including one with three compartments for writing utensils.
Each interior drawer is veneered with luxurious citron wood burl framed with brass fillets.
The lower section reveals a large compartment, two drawers, and a solid oak compartment serving as a safe.
The writing desk's top is adorned with white marble and an openwork brass gallery. The front and sides feature rare ornamentation of seven Japanese lacquer panels from two precious cabinets dating from the Edo period around 1680.
They offer a rare decoration of traditional landscapes, fauna (phoenixes, cranes, rabbits, etc.), and flora (morning lilies, bamboo, prunus, etc.).
Each panel is framed by brass fillets and a mahogany reserve bordered by a wide, finely guilloché bronze band.
The entire secretaire is embellished with rich gilt bronze ornamentation, including acanthus friezes for the spinning top legs, a central interlacing frieze, guilloché bands, spandrels with unfurled acanthus leaves, and extensive fluting on the front and sides. The locks and keys are clover-shaped for the drawer and the lower door; the cylinder of the flap lock, which was also probably clover-shaped, was previously modified.

Oak back, high-quality assembly and finishing.

Very well preserved, with minor wear-related restorations to the veneer and to one corner of the brass gallery.

Parisian work from the late Louis XVI period, circa 1790-1795, similar to the work of cabinetmaker Bernard Molitor (1755-1833).

Dimensions:

Height: 144 cm; Width: 92 cm; Depth: 38 cm

Our opinion:

The spinning top legs, semi-detached columns, and use of citron wood on our secretaire indicate a Parisian production from the late Louis XVI period around 1790 and refer to the world of cabinetmaker Bernard Molitor.
This stylistic similarity is all the more interesting given that he was one of a very small group of cabinetmakers who used precious Japanese lacquer panels during the Revolutionary period.
This type of panel was extremely expensive under the ancien régime, and the use of two cabinets to create a piece of furniture was extremely rare during this period, especially since the models chosen represent the quintessence of 17th-century Japanese lacquer. Indeed, our panels represent the finest techniques, with highly raised, finely incised decoration sprinkled with large sprinklings of gold, silver, and copper, all enhanced with brown and red lacquer and embellished with fine cut metal flakes, the hallmark of the finest workshops in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The presence of "clover" locks is consistent with this luxurious post-revolutionary production and is also a recurring feature of Molitor's work, as is the absence of stamps, a feature that has prevailed since the fall of the guilds in 1791.