Antique Victorian Amboyna Inlaid Bonheur Du Jour, circa 1860

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Antique Victorian Amboyna Inlaid Bonheur Du Jour, circa 1860

About the Item

This is a gorgeous Victorian amboyna, ebonised and ormolu-mounted Bonheur Du Jour or ladies writing desk, circa 1860 in date. Surmounted by decorative pierced brass galleries, it is made from amboyna and the rare thuya wood, the whole decorated throughout with hand painted Sevres porcelain plaques depicting Madam Dubarry and Madam De Montesson, and floral sprays, with exquisite ormolu mounts and kingwood crossbanding , it is an example of superb quality and design. This desk has a large central drawer which has a slide for writing, and this is fitted with an inset gold tooled burgundy leather writing surface, it is flanked by two further drawers, over a mirror backed two shelf undertier and raised on elegant turned feet. The gorgeous grain and color of the amboyna and the thuya, the multitude of hand painted Sevres porcelain plaques ensures that this desk will get noticed wherever it is placed. The interior of the central drawer bears an enamel plaque inscribed "Manufactured by Druce & Co, 68,69 & 58 Baker Street, Portman Square." Druce & Co were a London based cabinet makers and sellers of high quality furniture in Baker Street. They were established in the 1840s and in the Marylebone Trade Directory of 1853 listed themselves as ‘Furnishers, Upholsterers and Upholders for clients of discernment.’ An almost identical piece is illustrated in 19th Century European Furniture by Christopher Payne, page 313. The clock and jardiniere shown in the photographs are not included in the price. Condition: In excellent condition having been beautifully restored in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 152 x width 136 x depth 57. Dimensions in inches: Height 5 feet x width 4 feet, 5 inches x depth 1 foot, 10 inches. A bonheur du jour (in French, bonheur-du-jour, meaning "daytime delight") is a type of lady's writing desk. It was introduced in Paris by one of the interior decorators and purveyors of fashionable novelties called marchands-merciers about 1760, and speedily became intensely fashionable. The bonheur du jour is always very light and graceful, with a decorated back, since it often did not stand against the wall but was moved about the room. Its special characteristic is a raised back, which may form a little cabinet or a nest of drawers, or open shelves, which might be closed with a tambour or may simply be fitted with a mirror. The top, often surrounded with a chased and gilded bronze gallery, serves for placing small ornaments. Beneath the writing surface there is usually a single drawer, often neatly fitted for toiletries or writing supplies. Early examples were raised on slender cabriole legs; under the influence of neoclassicism, examples made after about 1775 had straight, tapering legs. The marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirierhad had the idea of mounting bonheurs du jour with specially-made plaques of Sèvres porcelainthat that he commissioned and for which he had a monopoly; the earliest Sèvres-mounted bonheur du jours are datable from the marks under their plaques to 1766-67. The choicer examples of the time are inlaid with marquetry or panels of Oriental lacquer, banded with exotic woods, with gilt-bronze mounts. By the mid-1770s the bonheur du jour was being made in London, where it was simply called a "lady's writing-desk". Sevres Porcelain traces its roots in France to early craftsmen who had small manufacturing operations in such places as Lille, Rouen. St. Cloud, and most notably Chantilly. It is from Chantilly that a cadre of workers migrated to the Chateau de Vincennes near Paris to form a larger porcelain manufactory in 1738. French King Louis XV, perhaps inspired by his rumoured relationship with mistress Madame de Pompadour, took an intense interest in porcelain and moved the operation in 1756 to even larger quarters in the Paris suburb of Sevres. Sevres was also conveniently near the home of Madame de Pompadour and the King's own Palace at Versailles. From the outset the king's clear aim was to produce Sevres Porcelain that surpassed the established Saxony works of Meissen and Dresden. Though the French lacked an ample supply of kaolin, a required ingredient for hard-paste porcelain (pate dure), their soft-paste porcelain (pate tendre) was fired at a lower temperature and was thus compatible with a wider variety of colours and glazes that in many cases were also richer and more vivid. Unglazed white Sevres Porcelain "biscuit" figurines were also a great success. However, soft-paste Sevres Porcelain was more easily broken. Therefore, early pieces of Sevres Porcelain that remain intact have become rare indeed. The Sevres Porcelain manufactory always seemed to be in dire financial straits despite the incredibly fine works it produced. In fact, the king's insistence that only the finest items be created may have contributed to the difficulties. Only a limited number of European nobility could afford the extravagant prices demanded for such works. King Louis XV and eventually his heir, the ill-fated Louis XVI, were obliged to invest heavily in the enterprise. Ultimately, the Sevres Porcelain Factory produced items under the name of "Royal" and thus the well-known Sevres mark was born. King Louis XV even mandated laws that severely restricted other porcelain production in France so as to retain a near monopoly for his Sevres Porcelain. The king even willingly became chief salesman for the finest of his products, hosting an annual New Year's Day showing for French nobility in his private quarters at Versailles. He eagerly circulated among potential buyers, pitching the merits of ownership and policing the occasional light-fingered guest. Sevres Porcelain may have indeed given the makers of Meissen and Dresden a run for their money by the end of the 18th Century but for the French Revolution. By 1800, the Sevres Porcelain Works were practically out of business due to the economic devastation of the new French Republic. About the time when Napoleon Bonaparte named himself Emperor of France (1804), a new director was named for the Sevres Porcelain Manufactory. Alexandre Brongniart, highly educated in many fields, resurrected Sevres Porcelain. Soft-paste porcelain was eliminated altogether thanks to the earlier discovery of kaolin near Limoges. For four decades until his death, Brongniart presided over monumental progress for Sevres Porcelain, catering not only to Napoleon himself, but at last to include the more financially profitable mid-priced market in the emerging middle class. Amboyna is a type of wood which has its origins in Indonesia (the preferred veneer comes particularly from the Andaman Islands). The grain texture is one of the most seldom and exclusive on earth. The burls are often very small, which is why the sheets of veneer come in small dimensions. The colours range from deep yellowish-orange to dark red. After finishing the surface, the grain texture of amboyna wood has a depth and richness unmatched in other textured woods.

Dimensions:
Height: 59.85 in (152 cm)Width: 53.55 in (136 cm)Depth: 22.45 in (57 cm)
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1860-1869
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1860
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 074621stDibs: LU95066097293