Mahogany architect table by P.Pioniez Paris circa 1780

Small architect's table called Tronchin style. * Model opening with a front drawer and two side zippers.
The quarter-round molded top can be tilted by a lectern system and adjustable in height using sliding racks hidden in the feet.
A pivoting brass rod allows it to be locked at the desired height.
The sliding rails of the solid mahogany lectern are finely cut and perforated.
The whole rests on four square legs adorned with grooves at the top and finished with bronze clogs and casters. Golden havana leather with original small irons for the top plate.
Removable book-holding rod in original solid mahogany. Beautiful mahogany from Santo Domingo with very tight grains, perfect state of conservation, varnished with a buffer by our workshop.

The underside of the sleepers stamped twice P.Pioniez * Parisian work from the Louis XVI period circa 1780.
Dimensions:

Height: 77 cm; Width: 80 cm; Depth: 56 cm

* The table à la Tronchin appeared during the reign of Louis XVI.
It takes its name from a Geneva doctor Theodore Tronchin (1709-1781) who published at the time works on bone diseases related to
to the wrong position you adopt at your desk.
He describes the benefits of creating a tilting and height-adjustable desk table that would keep your back straight and avoid strain and pain, whether you are working seated or standing.
The innovation of this system table comes from a mechanism of sliding feet and adjustable by a system of racks that allow the top to be raised to the desired height.

* Pierre Pioniez (Paris 1731-1790) is a Parisian cabinetmaker received master on August 14, 1765.
He first worked as a freelance worker in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, then settled in the Marais, rue Michel-Lecomte. The mark of this cabinetmaker is most often found on small luxury furniture.


Our opinion :

If the tables of architects will become democratized from the Directory, Louis XVI period models are much rarer because still reserved for an elite.
The realization of such a table required a great deal of time, and under the law on corporations only cabinetmakers received masters could produce such a piece of furniture before the revolution.
They must therefore be differentiated from models from the beginning of the 19th century produced in large numbers and often of inferior quality.
Our table indeed offers fairly rare assembly qualities, with smooth operation and a fairly ingenious rotating rod system that allows the top plate to be easily blocked at the height indicated.
Its designer Pierre Pioniez had also forged a solid reputation and all the notices concerning him pay tribute to the quality and the preciousness of his productions.
In addition to the ingenuity of the system, the state of conservation and the quality of the wood chosen, the small size of our table is a significant advantage.