18th desk in Boulle marquetry, Paris Regence period

Important flat desk in Boulle marquetry, Paris Regency period

Important flat desk in ebony and blackened pearwood veneer inlaid with brass fillets.
The front side opens with four drawers decorated with rosettes and drop handles, the back side simulating four identical drawers.
The faces are ornated with nets of brass tracing geometrical reserves.
The desk rests on four cambered legs ending in bronze deer hooves.
The top is encircled by a brass belt, with an ebony veneered top inlaid with brass fillets, with a three-part gilded purple goat leather in the center.

Beautiful ornamentation of original bronzes finely chased and gilded.

Very good condition, small restorations of use.

Fir wood core, walnut drawer interiors, original locks.

Parisian work from the Regency period around 1720.

Dimensions :

Height : 79 cm ; Width : 192 cm ; Depth : 89 cm

Inside of the drawers : 72,5 cm deep ; width : 35 cm

Our opinion :

With almost two meters of span, the desk we present is part of the large flat desks known as "a minister’s desk".
Reserved for an elite and placed in the middle of the room, these desks allowed their owners to have a large working and storage area but also had the function of impressing their guests during negotiations.
Note that the double-sided version with four identical drawers is particularly rare on this type of model.
Timeless because of its pure lines and sober decor, our desk will appeal to the discerning collector as much as to the simple amateur eager to find a large, practical and comfortable desk.
* The bronze trim of our desk is original ; in accordance with the technique of the time, it was originally gilded with a simple varnish.
This technique called "English varnish" is a primary gilding that precedes the gilding with mercury.
Unfortunately this gilding has a lesser longevity that does not allow it to pass the centuries.
We can see the remains of this type of varnish, partly evaporated, on some pieces of clock-making and furniture of the Regency period.
The bronzes on our desk were re-gilded for this reason, probably at the beginning of the 20th century.
Important flat desk in Boulle marquetry, Paris Regency period.