This table top is closely related to a group of at least six other table tops and cabinets still in the collections of the Munich Residenz. Most of them were commissioned directly by the Kurfürst Max Emanuel himself (reigned 1680-1726). Supplied by Johann Georg Esser (1652-1727) of Augsburg and the unknown master Wolfbauer, they date from the early 1680's. The large areas of tortoiseshell framed by the scrolling border, intertwined with putti and birds, are particularly close to the Augsburg work. See B. Langer, Die Möbel der Residenz München, vol. II, Munich, 1996, pp.77-100. It is possible that the present lot was produced locally in Munich, influenced by the above examples.