Louis XVI-style Writing Table, After Jean-Henri Riesener

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When Queen Marie-Antoinette of France desired her own suite for overnights at the convenient Tuileries Palace in Paris—while her husband … Read more When Queen Marie-Antoinette of France desired her own suite for overnights at the convenient Tuileries Palace in Paris—while her husband King Louis XVI remained out at Versailles—the royal furniture office engaged Jean-Henri Riesener to do her apartments up in the latest fashion. Of the furnishings the renowned ébéniste created and delivered in December 1784, one piece, the queen’s desk, has inspired furniture makers throughout the ages. Only the finest would attempt to recapture the refined elegance of the original, which you’ll find carefully preserved in the collection of the Musée du Louvre (inventory # OA5226; ask AI).
On offer here is one such homage made of mahogany and adorned with intricately patterned veneers. In Marie-Antoinette’s time, mahogany was a highly prized exotic wood harvested in the remote Caribbean islands. Following the queen’s original piece, this desk features gilt-bronze ornamentation on the front and sides, including relief plaques filled with cherubs at work in a salute to the arts. Scrolling basket handles open two drawers, just as the original, and gilt-bronze strips protect the corners and legs of this piece. The desk’s top and facia are ornamented with diamond-lozenge cross-hatching. The top is protected by bevel-edged glass.
The queen’s desk, however, was made in a form called a cylinder. It has a pull-down, lockable top to hide all the necessities needed for a quill-and-ink world, where discretion was essential. Better formed for today’s lifestyle, this one is a bureau plat, or flat desk, a form chosen by Riesener when making a desk for the king’s own rooms at the Tuileries Palace—so much better for today’s laptop simplicity. See less