$23,900
H 30 in W 47.25 in D 27.5 in
French 19th Century Louis XV St. Ebony, Tortoiseshell, Brass, and Leather Desk
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A stunning and unique French 19th century Louis XV st. ebony, tortoiseshell, brass, and leather
Brass, Ormolu
Exceptional Napoleon III Louis XV Style Boulle Writing Desk
Located in Macclesfield, GB
engraved brass and red tortoiseshell writing table or centre table with blue and green colored enamel
Brass
Unavailable
H 48.82 in W 21.26 in D 42.52 in
Sicilian Writing Desk in Ebony Embellished with Tortoiseshell Inserts and Silver
Located in Barletta, IT
Writing desk in ebony embellished with tortoiseshell inserts and silver finishes. Drawers along
Silver
Unavailable
H 31.5 in W 48.04 in D 24.41 in
French Louis Napoleon III Style Boulle Desk with Tortoiseshell and Brass Inlay
Located in Lentate sul Seveso (Mb), IT
Napoleon III desk with bronze applications and gold leaf gilding. Inlay in engraved brass and natural tortoise. The gendarme hat top shows ornamental motifs in floral taste. Two draw...
Tortoise Shell
Sold
H 5.12 in W 15.36 in D 11.03 in
Napoleon III Boulle Marquetry Brass Tortoiseshell Travel Writing Desk, France
By André-Charles Boulle
Located in Paris, FR
Extremely elegant big size elegant travel writing desk in Boulle style decorated with brass and
Brass
Painted Faux Tortoiseshell Shaped Kneehole Desk
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Refined and exceptional shaped knee hole desk with a brown tooled leather top. Inspired faux tortoise or turtle case, including seven drawers with brass hardware, a finished back and...
Mahogany
Painted Faux Tortoiseshell Shaped Kneehole Desk
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Refined and exceptional shaped knee hole desk with a brown tooled leather top. Inspired faux tortoise or turtle case, including seven drawers with brass hardware, a finished back and...
Faux Tortoiseshell Partners Desk by Maitland-Smith
By Maitland Smith
Located in Lake Worth, FL
. Offering one of our recent palm beach estate fine furniture acquisitions of a 1980s Faux Tortoiseshell
Stone, Brass
Tortoiseshell and Polished Brass Maitland-Smith Desk
By Maitland Smith
Located in North Miami, FL
This most unusual laid tortoise shell tiles are in the dark brown to black palette. The variants of the tortoise shell tiles are beautiful. The inlaid brass appointments and hardwa...
Brass
19Th. English Colonial Tortoiseshell Bamboo & Lacquer Drop-Front Desk
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Just in, this 19Th. English Colonial Tortoiseshell Bamboo & Lacquer Drop-Front Desk . Lovely
Bamboo
Antique Boulle Red Tortoiseshell Bonheur Du Jour circa 1870
Located in London, GB
This is a gorgeous antique French Red Tortoiseshell and cut brass inlaid ebonised Boulle, Bureau de
Sold
H 43.71 in W 34.65 in D 17.33 in
Napoleon III Cabinet in Tortoiseshell and Brass Boulle Marquetry, 19th Century
By André-Charles Boulle
Located in Paris, FR
Gorgeous Napoleon III cabinet in Boulle marquetry with brass and tortoiseshell. The marquetry has
Carrara Marble, Brass, Bronze
Sold
H 77.56 in W 59.06 in D 23.63 in
17th Century Italian Vargeno Mahogany Writing Desk with Bronze and Tortoiseshell
Located in Marbella, ES
17th century Italian vargeno mahogany writing desk with bronze, tortoiseshell decorations and
Bronze
Sotheby's Auction Catalogue: Fine European Furniture
Located in valatie, NY
tortoiseshell-veneered writing box, a 19th century bronze model of the colonne Vendôme, A Dutch Rococo mahogany
Paper
Sold
H 30.5 in W 50.5 in D 26.75 in
Maitland-Smith, Partners Desk, Faux Tortoiseshell Inlay, US, circa 1980s
By Maitland Smith
Located in New York, NY
A Maitland-Smith veneered Neoclassical-inspired writing table. Possesses three drawers with brass
Wood
Anglo-Indian Tortoiseshell Writing Box
Located in Northampton, United Kingdom
Rare Anglo-Indian tortoiseshell and ivory writing slope with ornate silver carry handles and latch
Ivory, Tortoise Shell
$67,000
H 31 in W 61 in D 34 in
19th Century Boulle Ormolu and Ebony Bureau Plat/Desk by Mathieu Béfort, France
By Befort Jeune, Mathieu Béfort, André-Charles Boulle
Located in North Miami, FL
Late 19th century Regency Boulle-style ormolu and ebony wood bureau plat/desk by Mathieu Béfort (AKA: Béfort Jeune), France By: Mathieu Béfort, Béfort Jeune, André-Charles Boulle (i...
Metal, Silver, Bronze, Copper, Ormolu
$3,336Sale Price|20% Off
H 46.86 in W 84.26 in D 24.41 in
Outstanding Quality Antique Victorian Carved Mahogany Chaise Longue
Located in Suffolk, GB
Outstanding quality antique Victorian carved mahogany chaise longue having an outstanding quality mahogany shaped back with carved scrolls, flowers, leaves and grapes, scroll shaped ...
Other
19th Century Boulle Louis XVI style Inlaid Centre Table
By André-Charles Boulle
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality French 19th century boulle inlaid centre table, having gilded ormolu mounts, a single frieze drawer and raised on a four splay out swept base.
Brass
$42,000
H 29 in W 56.75 in D 146 in
A Fine & Rare Louis XVI Mahogany Dining Table by Claude Messier, 18th Century
By Claude Messier
Located in Sheffield, MA
A Fine & Rare Louis XVI Mahogany Dining Table 18th Century By Claude Messier Maitre 1792 Active in Paris at the end of the 18th Century The top with rounded drop leaves, openi...
Mahogany
Custom English Flame Mahogany Double Pedestal Dining Table
Located in Woodbury, CT
Double pedestal, flame mahogany dining table with satinwood crossbanding, beaded edge, mahogany apron. Cannon turned single column pedestals with reeded legs ending in brass "paw" to...
Mahogany, Satinwood, Ebony
$3,818
H 30.71 in W 63 in D 32.29 in
Vintage Satinwood Marquetry Carlton House Writing Desk 20th Century
Located in London, GB
Here we have a very attractive Carlton House Desk which has been hand crafted from the very finest satinwood and decorated with inlaid marquetry and dates from the late twentieth cen...
Satinwood
Italian Painted Hall Bench - 19th Century
Located in Vo', Veneto
Beautiful and elegant Italian hall bench, in painted fir wood. The alternation of sage green and cream colors creates a refined play of light and shade. This piece of furniture was ...
Fir
English Adam Gilt Marble Console Table
Located in Queens, NY
English Adam (circa 1780) gilt wood console with a carved frieze over rams head topped fluted legs with a stretcher & alabaster veneered marble top with a verde edge.
Alabaster, Marble, Gold Leaf
Rare 19th Century Louis XIV Style 'Boulle' Marquetry Console Table
By André-Charles Boulle
Located in London, GB
A Louis XIV Style Brass-Inlaid Marquetry Console Table After the design by André-Charles Boulle Constructed from ebony, with excellent hand-chased and gilded bronze mounts, the shap...
Brass, Ormolu
19th Century French Antiques Boulle Cabinet
By André-Charles Boulle
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A sensational hight quality french 19th century Napoleon third peroid ,ebony and bronze cabinet a hauteur d appui inlaid with brass ,marble top the boulle cabinet have an important...
Marble, Bronze
Pair 19th Century Boulle pier cabinets
By André-Charles Boulle
Located in Brighton, Sussex
Pair of French 19th Century Boulle inlaid side cabinets, each with their original black Belgium marble tops, gilded classical ormolu mouldings and mounts, canted corners with classic...
Belgian Black Marble
17th Century Venetian Painted and Parcel Gilt Gondola Sofa
Located in Houston, TX
17th century Venetian painted and parcel gilt gondola sofa. This gorgeous antique venetian sofa or canape has been newly upholstered in a plush white short pile mohair type fabric. S...
Mohair, Wood
$32,200Sale Price|30% Off
H 28.75 in W 45.25 in D 27.5 in
Fine French Napoleon III Period Porcelain Plaque Mounted Ebonized Writing Table
Located in Forney, TX
A spectacular French Napoleon III Second Empire period (1852-1870) magnificently decorated ebonized wood writing table. Exceptionally fine quality, exquisitely hand-crafted by a hi...
Mother-of-Pearl, Porcelain, Oak, Wood
$89,900
H 31.5 in W 74 in D 39.5 in
French 19th century Louis XV st. Kingwood and Ormolu desk in the style of Linke
By François Linke
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A stunning and extremely high quality French 19th century Louis XV st. Kingwood and Ormolu desk, in the style of François Linke. The exceptional desk is raised by elegant cabriole le...
Ormolu
$12,000 / set
H 43 in W 22 in D 24 in
Important Pair of Italian Painted Fauteuils Florence, 18th Century
Located in Buchanan, MI
An important pair of Italian painted fauteuils Florence, 18th century Each having a Tassinari and Chatel silk-upholstered shield form padded back, padded arms with scroll hand holds ...
Giltwood
$132,278
H 31.5 in W 72.84 in D 38.59 in
Antique French Louis XV Style Ormolu Mounted Marquetry Desk by Maison Léger
By Maison Léger
Located in London, GB
Antique French Louis XV style ormolu mounted marquetry desk by Maison Léger French, c. 1880 Height 80cm, width 185cm, depth 98cm This very impressive desk was crafted around 1880 by...
Ormolu
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.
Top interior designers show — and tell — us how to create delectable spaces for hosting dinner parties.
Fans of the French film star may be surprised to learn that he had a flair for furniture with sleek lines and disco-era flash.
Like other pieces in the firm’s Candy Box collection, the cheerful limited-edition design showcases French craft.
Whether you’re just moving in or ready to give your home a makeover, our guide will give you pointers on tables that are fitting for every room, nook and hallway.
From his massive collaborative workshop in a former paper factory, the designer concocts funky furniture from disused materials, as well as luxe hotel interiors like the new Mix Brussels.
The designer’s innovative use of an unexpected material gives this console a lift.
The stately piece brings both gravitas and whimsy to any work space.
Use them as tables or stools, indoors or out.