拍品專文
The present sécretaire is a faithful reproduction of Jean-Henri Riesener's celebrated suite of furniture commissioned in 1783 for Marie Antoinette's cabinet intérieur at Saint-Cloud. The original and a companion commode, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are among the highlights of the Museum's collection and are considered to be the 'jewel in the crown' of Riesener's oeuvre. A similar Napoleon III secrétaire, referenced in Pierre Verlet's Les Bronzes Dorés du XVIII Siècle, was sold at Christie's, New York, 21 April 2009, lot 269 ($158,500).