CIRCA 1830-35, PROBABLY SOUTH GERMAN

Details

AN EMPIRE PATINATED BRONZE-MOUNTED ROSEWOOD BUREAU
CIRCA 1830-35, PROBABLY SOUTH GERMAN
Banded overall with boxwood, the rectangular sliding-top decorated with rosettes to the corners, above a gilt-tooled black leather-lined secretaire drawer and two further mahogany-lined drawers, one fitted with a secret compartment, the shaped end-supports headed by winged lion's masks and terminating in paw feet joined by rounded plinths
33½ in. (85 cm.) high; 53¾ in. (136.5 cm.) wide; 28¼ in. (72 cm.) deep

Provenance

Anonymous sale, Christie's, Amsterdam, 27 June 2006, lot 444.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The lion's mask adorning each scrolled leg of this elegant writing table is a feature Percier and Fontaine made famous in their Recueil of 1802 and which Leo von Klenze then repeatedly incorporated in his designs for consoles, tables and chairs. The argument for a possible south German origin is further supported by the intricate pen-engraved geometric marquetry which is typical of Munich furniture of the 1830's and related rosewood writing tables inlaid with bands of maple or boxwood after designs by von Klenze are at the Munich Residenz (B. Langer, H. Ottomeyer, et all., Die Möbel der Residenz München, Munich, 1997, vol. III, pp. 215 and 216).

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