A parlor table serving as a lectern, Paris, circa 1770

A rare small parlor table in solid Honduran mahogany.

It rests on four cabriole legs joined by a stretcher top adorned with an openwork bronze gallery.
The kidney-shaped upper section features a recessed Aleppo breccia marble top set within a bronze molding; it opens at the front with a drawer and a removable lectern, and on the sides with two pivoting compartments.

Beautiful mercury-gilt bronze ornamentation, molding, openwork gallery, and foot pads.

In very good condition; oak frame.

Parisian work from the transition between the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods, circa 1765-1770.

Dimensions:

Height: 72 cm; Width: 60 cm; Depth: 38 cm

Our small table is reminiscent of the work of cabinetmaker Jean-François Leleu (1729-1807).

Immediately after his dismissal from the royal workshop following the death of Jean François Oeben in 1763, Leleu earned his master craftsman's certificate and set up his own business.
In his workshop on the rue de la Contrescarpe, he mass-produced very simple mahogany furniture, always impeccably crafted and often embellished with mechanisms and small intricacies.
This type of parlor table allowed one to enjoy a snack, write a love note, read, or knit in more intimate settings than grand reception rooms, such as small boudoirs or private studies.