Chinoiserie Black Lacquered Drop Front Secretary Desk With Bookcase Hutch

A beautiful Georgian or Queen Anne style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top By Henredon USA, Circa 1980s Gorgeous figured walnut, with original bra...

A beautiful Georgian, Chippendale, or Early American style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top USA, Circa 1970s Gorgeous carved solid birch, with original ...

A gorgeous Georgian Chinoiserie style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top In the manner of Jasper Furniture Company USA, Late 20th Century Black lacquered...

A rare, late-17th century / early-18th century, fall front bureau with gilded Chinoiserie Japanning & faux tortoishell ground. “Before Japan was made in England, the imitation of tortoise-shell was much in request for cabinets, tables and the like“. John Stalker and George Parker, a treatise on Japanning and varnishing (originally published in 1668), Alec Tiranti, 1998, p. 75. - This bureau is decorated in one of the most fashionable styles of the Baroque period, Chinese lacquer with gilded decoration and tortoiseshell imitation ground and would have been a statement piece within the interior. - The colours, which have become muted from atmospheric conditions over time, are still striking and colourful evoking warm and richness. - It has come from a private collection where it has reputedly been for many generations which explains why it is in such original condition retaining the original hinges, lock and catches. - Pieces of imitation tortoishell with gilded lacquer decoration are rare, the last piece I handled was a chest of drawers about 20 years ago. - Tortoishell furniture was only affordable by royalty and the elite and the height of fashion in the 17th century, as was producing things that were not what they seemed. One of the oldest examples of faux material from the Baroque period is at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen where, in 1667, the royal bed...