High Adjustable Roll Top Desk with Integrated Chair, 1785

Details

Description

Antique desk as transformable furniture with standing desk and integrated chair

southern germany
cherry
around 1780

dimensions: h x w … Read more Antique desk as transformable furniture with standing desk and integrated chair

southern germany
cherry
around 1780

dimensions: h x w x d: 115 x 107 x 69 cm

:
exceptional and extremely rare height-adjustable desk with integrated chair.

when closed, we see a cylindrical bureau standing on eight legs with what appears to be a twelve-drawer front.
closer inspection reveals that only six of the twelve visible drawers are actually functional. The top three fronts conceal a height adjustment mechanism, the centre three conceal an integrated, pull-out chair.
all drawer fronts are neatly veneered with diagonal grain. A dark band inlay frames the surfaces - a design detail that we will also find on the sides, the back panel, the top panel and the interior.

one of the furniture's outstanding technical features is its height adjustability: the entire cylinder top can be raised in stages using a crank inserted into the top right-hand drawer front. The height of the writing surface changes from 87 cm to up to 133 cm, so that during a long day at the desk it was and is possible to work both sitting and standing.
at 87 cm, the relatively low height of the work surface also means that the seat height is significantly higher at 58 cm. The dimensions were certainly chosen according to the exact specifications of the client at the time.
the chair is upholstered in r6 athena col. 6 from the prussian horsehair fabric archive of the emil rotter company.
when the chair is pulled out, a catch located under the centre front panel can be released and an additional work surface pulled out. Underneath this pull-out tableau is a hidden compartment closed by a double bottom.

when the cylinder lock is opened, a tidy, functional interior with eight small drawers and a central writing surface covered in leather and framed by fine marquetry is revealed.
the outstanding quality of this piece of furniture can be seen, among other things, in the very elaborately crafted rolleau, whose slats are in two parts, i.e. The straps that hold the slats together are not attached to the underside, as in almost all comparable pieces, but run inside the slats and are therefore not visible either when the rolleau is closed or open.
also worth mentioning is the rod lock built into the rolleau, which locks into the sides of the top on the left and right.

as the back of the desk is of the same quality, it can be assumed that it once served a representative purpose as the central piece of furniture in a stately study. This is also supported by the impressive fire-gilt bronze fittings, which make a decisive contribution to the overall effect of the piece of furniture and further emphasise the impression of looking at twelve drawers.

condition:
restored condition with authentic age patina. Loosened veneers have been stabilised and the surface has been hand-polished with shellac.
the straps in the crank mechanism and in the rolleau, which had become brittle over the centuries, were renewed and the supports of the top, which were badly warped at the time of purchase, were replaced. The mechanism works perfectly.

two similar pieces of furniture can be found in the literature.

please refer to the following reference book:
wolfgang eller - möbel des klassizismus p. 128 and 140 See less