BY GEORGES AND FRANCOIS-HONORE GEORGES JACOB (DIT JACOB DESMALTER), CIRCA 1805

Details

AN EMPIRE BRASS-MOUNTED MAHOGANY LIBRARY TABLE
BY GEORGES AND FRANCOIS-HONORE GEORGES JACOB (DIT JACOB DESMALTER), CIRCA 1805
With a rectangular top, the brass bound edge above a secretaire frieze drawer with a later tooled-leather writing surface and fitted with drawers, on stylized lotus-carved paw monopodia joined by a shaped plinth; stamped 'JACOB R. MESLEE' to the underside of the frieze drawer
34 ¾ in. (88.3 cm.) high, 57 ½ in. (146 cm.) wide, 28 ¾ in. (73 cm.) deep

Provenance

By repute, supplied to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
By repute, the Collection of George Vivian (according to printed label).

Special notice

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Sale room notice

A nearly identical table, called a "bureau mécanique" was supplied to Napoleon at Saint-Cloud (1805), Compiègne (1808), and Fontainebleau (1809). The King of Naples and Napoleon's brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, possessed two such examples (at Fontainebleau and at Caserte).

Lot Essay

Georges (1739-1814, maître in 1765) and François-Honoré Georges Jacob (1770-1841) dit Jacob-Desmalter employed this stamp between 1803 and 1813.

The George Vivian mentioned in the label may refer to George the Baron Vivian (1878-1940) who served in the Boer War and was later aide-de-camp to King Albert I of Belgium.

A nearly identical table, called a "bureau mécanique" was supplied to Napoleon at Saint-Cloud (1805), Compiègne (1808), and Fontainebleau (1809). The King of Naples and Napoleon's brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, possessed two such examples (at Fontainebleau and at Caserte).

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