Louis Xiv Writing Desk
Antique 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1910s European Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
20th Century Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Antique 17th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique 19th Century Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique Mid-19th Century Italian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Early 20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Early 20th Century European Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood, Rosewood
Antique Early 18th Century German Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Tin
Antique Early 1800s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Ormolu
Antique Late 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Mid-20th Century European Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Vintage 1930s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Early 20th Century Belgian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Antique Mid-17th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Antique 1790s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Early 20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Antique Mid-17th Century Italian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Beech
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Ormolu
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Ormolu
Antique Late 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique 1720s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Bronze
Antique 1710s Italian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Bronze, Ormolu
Antique Late 19th Century French French Provincial Tables
Oak
Recent Sales
20th Century European Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique Early 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Antique 18th Century and Earlier French Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Antique 18th Century and Earlier French Desks and Writing Tables
Beech, Leather
Antique 1780s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Antique 18th Century Italian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique Late 17th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze, Pewter
Antique 1690s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze, Copper
Antique 17th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique 18th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Cherry
Early 2000s European Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique 1890s Italian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique 1750s Italian Louis XIV Secretaires
Antique Late 17th Century Italian Louis XIV Tables
Wood
Antique 1790s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique Early 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Ormolu, Pewter, Bronze
Antique 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Early 20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Antique 17th Century Italian Desks and Writing Tables
Antique 19th Century European Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Elm, Walnut
Antique 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Antique 1880s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Antique 19th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
Antique 19th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Ormolu
Antique 1710s Italian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 19th Century British Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze, Ormolu
Antique 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Iron
20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Kingwood, Mahogany, Satinwood
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Kingwood, Mahogany, Satinwood
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
Mid-20th Century Italian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique 19th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
Antique Mid-19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Antique 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique Mid-19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Marble
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique 1850s French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Mahogany
Antique Early 18th Century Italian Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique 19th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
Antique 19th Century European Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Antique 1870s Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Antique Mid-19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Mid-19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Early 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Early 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique Late 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Antique Early 18th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Early 20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Beech
Early 20th Century French Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
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Louis Xiv Writing Desk For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Louis Xiv Writing Desk?
A Close Look at Louis-xiv Furniture
As opposed to the styles that would follow from the other 18th-century French kings, Louis XV and Louis XVI, antique Louis XIV furniture is rigid and imposing. It expresses opulence — even its armchairs, with their upright backs, straight legs and lavish ornamentation, look like thrones. Authentic Louis XIV sofas, a then newly emerging iteration of seating, are fully upholstered and often feature decoratively carved frames of walnut, chestnut or oak.
When French King Louis XIV established his royal court at Versailles in 1682, he transformed what was once a hunting lodge into a palace that declared his wealth and power through its design. Until his death in 1715, he reigned with a spirit of excess and absolute political dominance. The “Sun King,” as he called himself, believed that France revolved around him as planets do the sun. Louis XIV adopted the sun as his emblem, decorating the grounds with symbols of the sun and Apollo, the Greek god of the sun. As he stated, “There is nothing that indicates more clearly the magnificence of great princes than their superb palaces and their precious furniture.” He was a child when he became king in 1643, only shaping his style after he became absolute monarch in 1661.
Reflecting trends in French Baroque art, Louis XIV furniture characteristics included exuberant decoration. There were gilded bronze details including shells, suns, grotesques, lions and classical references like acanthus leaves. The years of growth in the country’s manufacturing, such as the tapestries and cabinets made at Gobelins, led to design innovations. The commode replaced the chest as a storage device, with drawers and a surface that could double as a desk.
The materials were luxurious, such as the popular tortoiseshell veneer technique that leading cabinetmaker Pierre Golle used in his designs. André-Charles Boulle, who became royal cabinetmaker in 1672, was a masterful artist of marquetry, using inlays of ebony, exotic woods and mother-of-pearl.
Find a collection of antique Louis XIV bedroom furniture, chairs, tables and other pieces on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Desks-writing-tables for You
Choosing the perfect writing desk or writing table is a profoundly personal journey, one that people have been embarking upon for centuries.
Queen Atossa of Persia, from her writing table circa 500 B.C., is said to have been the originator of the art of handwritten letters. Hers was reportedly the first in a long and colorful history of penned correspondence that grew in popularity alongside literacy. The demand for suitable writing desks, which would serve the composer of the letters as well as ensure the comfort of the recipient naturally followed, and the design of these necessary furnishings has evolved throughout history.
Once people began to seek freedom from the outwardly ornate styles of the walnut and rosewood writing desks and drafting tables introduced in the name of Queen Victoria and King Louis XV, radical shifts occurred, such as those that materialized during the Art Nouveau period, when designers longed to produce furniture inspired by the natural world’s beauty. A prime example is the work of the famous late-19th-century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí — his rolltop desk featured deep side drawers and was adorned with carved motifs that paid tribute to nature. Gaudí regularly combined structural precision with decorative elements, creating beautiful pieces of furniture in wood and metal.
Soon afterward, preferences for sleek, geometric, stylized forms in furniture that saw an emphasis on natural wood grains and traditional craftsmanship took hold. Today, Art Deco desks are still favored by designers who seek to infuse interiors with an air of luxury. One of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco movement was French decorator and furniture designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. With his use of neoclassical motifs as well as expensive and exotic materials such as imported dark woods and inlays of precious metals for his writing desks, Ruhlmann came to symbolize good taste and modernity.
The rise in appreciation for Scandinavian modernism continues to influence the design of contemporary writing desks. It employs the “no fuss” or “less is more” approach to creating a tasteful, sophisticated space. Sweden’s master cabinetmaker Bruno Mathsson created gallery-worthy designs that are as functional as they are beautiful. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto never viewed himself as an artist, but, like Mathsson, his furniture designs reflected a fondness for organic materials and a humanistic approach. Danish designers such as Hans Wegner introduced elegant shapes and lines to mid-century desks and writing tables, often working in oak and solid teak.
From vintage desks to contemporary styles, 1stDibs offers a broad spectrum of choices for conducting all personal and business writing and reading activities.