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Lot Essay
The following entry appears in the inventory of the château de Fontainebleau drawn up in 1788: Chambre de Mr. de Villedavray (sic) 414 - Une table à écrire de bois de noyer de 30 pouces sur 18 (Archives Nationales, O, 3398).
Thierry de Ville d'Avray was appointed Intendant et Contrôleur G°en©ral des Meubles de la Couronne in 1784. He was also premier valet de chambre du Roy. As such, he was entitled to two apartments in each royal residence. Their furnishings were supplied by the Crown. He occasionally used pieces formerly placed in the King's apartments, and pieces intented for him occasionally found their way into the royal family's apartments. A man of taste, he was also very much concerned with his own comfort (P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, 1955, pp. 15-16.)
The measurements of this table correspond exactly to those given in the inventory which, however, describes it as being made of walnut (bois de noyer) instead of tulipwood (boise de rose). Mistakes in the Journal du Garde Meuble are not infrequent; moreover refined pieces of this type are not known to have been made of walnut or even veneered with walnut, which was used for manufacturing simpler pieces. The knowledge of woods being extremely vague then and their description being often confused, one must assume that the above discrepancy is due to an error on the writer's part or to a transcriber's mistake (F.J.B Watson, Le Meuble Louis XVI, 1963, p. 45).
Thierry de Ville d'Avray was appointed Intendant et Contrôleur G°en©ral des Meubles de la Couronne in 1784. He was also premier valet de chambre du Roy. As such, he was entitled to two apartments in each royal residence. Their furnishings were supplied by the Crown. He occasionally used pieces formerly placed in the King's apartments, and pieces intented for him occasionally found their way into the royal family's apartments. A man of taste, he was also very much concerned with his own comfort (P. Verlet, Le Mobilier Royal Français, 1955, pp. 15-16.)
The measurements of this table correspond exactly to those given in the inventory which, however, describes it as being made of walnut (bois de noyer) instead of tulipwood (boise de rose). Mistakes in the Journal du Garde Meuble are not infrequent; moreover refined pieces of this type are not known to have been made of walnut or even veneered with walnut, which was used for manufacturing simpler pieces. The knowledge of woods being extremely vague then and their description being often confused, one must assume that the above discrepancy is due to an error on the writer's part or to a transcriber's mistake (F.J.B Watson, Le Meuble Louis XVI, 1963, p. 45).