A Chinese lacquer slant-front desk, circa 1760

A rare Chinese lacquer slant-front desk. Made of black and gold lacquered softwood, the piece features delicately executed gold dust decoration on all sides, depicting lakeside landscapes with pavilions, figures, birds, and boats, in the purest Chinese pictorial tradition. The interior, also lacquered, opens with a drop-front to reveal a complex arrangement of small drawers and compartments.
The upper section, containing the drop-front and drawers, rests on a base whose stretchers and four cabriole legs are decorated with engraved gold leaf featuring scrolling foliage and geometric motifs. The two elements—body and base—are joined by a system of iron hooks, allowing them to be separated for transport.

The European-style desk, inspired by English design, with its slanted front, stepped interior, and two drawers in the frieze, echoes the "slant front desk" style popular in London during the reigns of George II and George III. However, Chinese ideograms inscribed in ink on the drawer bottoms confirm its Eastern origin, likely from workshops in Canton.

In excellent condition.
China (Canton), circa 1760-1780, for export to Europe.

Dimensions:
Height: 89 cm – Width: 71 cm – Depth: 45 cm
A similar desk is held at the Musée de la Compagnie des Indes in Lorient (inv. 2016.12.1).
Another desk, bearing the coat of arms of the Marquise de Sévigné, is held at the Musée Carnavalet in Paris (MB224).
The adaptation of an oriental form to a Western typology illustrates the Chinese artisans' perfect understanding of 18th-century British tastes and customs. This type of furniture, combining European structure and Asian decoration, testifies to the aesthetic dialogue between East and West fostered by the trade of the East India Company.