Mahogany reading table circa 1780

Mahogany and mahogany veneer reading table made by a cabinetmaker familiar with the work of Joseph Gegenbach known as Canabas. Louis XVI period, in the 1780s.
Size (H x W x D): 69 x 118 x 53 cm.

The reading table has a bean or kidney shaped top. In the center, an iron mechanism pushes a pull cord to release the reading table lined with tan morocco. The same system releases the two side compartments veneered with mahogany.

The piece of furniture rests on a base in openwork lyre whose two feet are joined by a strut. The legs end in mahogany and gilded bronze casters. This makes it possible to move this flying piece of furniture near a light source.

In the taste of Canabas

This charming reading table is to be compared with the achievements of Canabas. This cabinetmaker, following his stay in Great Britain, had returned to France with new forms inspired by English and Chinese fashions, and mahogany as his preferred material. Throughout his career, Canabas executed similar furniture, without bronze ornamentation, or with sparingly placed bronzes. Many cabinetmakers working with the noble mahogany had copied and followed his models, which remained in fashion until the beginning of the 19th century because of the purity of their neoclassical line.