Tabletop lectern. Early 18th Century

About the Item

Table lectern resting on a circular base and supported by a central stem, into which the height-adjustment rod engages, with mechanical device for tilting the brass lectern with blued steel parts, as well as the score stop on the front. The work is entirely worked with the "Boulle" technique: the conifer wood frame is entirely inlaid, on the front, base, and stem, in brass and tin alloy, on a heather briar ground. The back is veneered in dark wood, with brass threads. As Simone Chiarugi explains in his expert report, the lectern constitutes a unicum of its kind, probably made on a specific commission to be donated. Inlaid decorative motifs allow the work to be dated to the early 18th century. They recall well-known engravings by Jean Bérain and lesser-known ones by Pierre Bordon, published in Paris around 1703. Certainly more pertinent to our lectern are the series of etchings released in Nuremberg by Paul Decker the younger. Comparisons are possible with other artifacts whose manufacture must be confined to southern Germany, such as a pair of torch boxes belonging to the Liechtenstein Collection or a chest (recently passed at auction) signed by cabinetmaker Johann Puchwiser, active in Munich. Because of these possible comparisons, we believe that the making of our lectern should also be attributed to a German-speaking cabinetmaker, active perhaps in Munich or Vienna. It is interesting to point out that in addition to being a decorative object, the lectern must also have been used for its original function, as the small punctiform depressions in the central area, a sign of the tapping of a baton, would attest to, in order to point to the musical score.

Dimensions:

Height: 15.36 in (39 cm)Width: 11.03 in (28 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)

Style:

Other (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Brass,Steel,Wood

Place of Origin:

Austria

Period:

18th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1700s