Lyre Secretaire, Mahogany, Germany, circa 1825

View Similar Items

Biedermeier Secretaire, Cherry Veneer, Mahogany, South Germany circa 1820

Antique French Charles X Secretary/Secrétaire à Abattant in Mahogany, c. 1825

20th Century Viennese Biedermeier Style Lyre Secretaire

Regency Mahogany Secretaire, circa 1800

Biedermeier Secretaire, South German, circa 1820

20th Century Vienna Biedermeier Lyre Secretaire

20th Century Vienna Biedermeier Style Lyre Secretaire

19th Century Biedermeier Walnut Secretaire. Vienna, c. 1825.

Empire Secretaire, Vienna, circa 1810

Neoclassical Biedermeier Secretaire, Cherry Veneer, South Germany circa 1820

Louis XVI Mahogany Secrétaire à Abattant Circa 1820, France

Video Loading

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 15

Lyre Secretaire, Mahogany, Germany, circa 1825

About the Item

The writing furniture made of mahogany is designed in the shape of a lyre. The gold-plated lion paws stand on a separately manufactured drawer pedestal with square feet curved outwards. The hinged writing compartment with its elaborate interior rises above two drawers. Several small drawers are grouped around the central, mirrored compartment, which is bordered at the front by a small balustrade and reminds one of the interior of a small temple. Several secret compartments are worked out behind this front. The wide drawer above this writing compartment leads over to the upper end of the secretary, which is reminiscent of a fan by its front division and its semicircular shape. This front can also be opened and hides another large compartment which can be pulled out completely from the outer casing. Starting with the mighty gilded lion paws, the Lyra secretary is bordered on each side by a gilded frame growing out of palmettes, reminiscent of a horn of plenty. The upper semicircle is also enclosed by a gilded kyma. The furniture type of the Lyre Secretaire probably originated in Austria and, due to its complexity, was rarely adopted in Germany. This writing furniture, which could be used both for writing and storing personal and administrative documents, already refers to these functions by its striking silhouette and several design details. The lyre stands as a symbol of music and poetry, and its symmetrical shape, as a reference to harmony, could be seen as a basic principle of any philosophy. The four lion paws on which the entire piece of furniture stands symbolize the idea of power and wisdom of this "king of animals" and at the same time correspond with the reproduction of the antithetic sphinxes depicted above the mirrored centre of the writing compartment. These two mixed creatures can also be seen as an allusion to the wisdom stored or produced in this writing furniture as well as the puzzles it contains. Depicted above the centre of the furniture, these sphinxes symbolize the protection of all that is stored in the Lyra secretaire, in accordance with the mixed beings who often act as guardians. This connection with the female sphinx as a mysterious creature is also connected with the upper end of the furniture designed as a fan - the fan can be seen as a symbol of female coquetry - so that it can be assumed that this lyra secretary is a piece of writing furniture for women. Lit.: Kreisel/Himmelheber, Die Kunst des deutschen Möbels, Munich 1973, fig. 335; W.L. Eller, Möbel des Klassizismus, Louis XVI und Empire, Antiquitätenkatalog, Munich, 2002, p. 239, fig. [405]; About the copy in Hanover: A. Feulner, Kunstgeschichte des Möbels, Berlin 1927, p. 745, Fig. 648 (erroneously still listed there as "Wiener Sekretär").

Dimensions:
Height: 65.95 in (167.5 cm)Width: 42.92 in (109 cm)Depth: 20.87 in (53 cm)
Style:
Empire (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Mahogany
Place of Origin:
Germany
Period:
1820-1829
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1825
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Greding, DE
Reference Number:
Seller: 019-03371stDibs: LU1014221003762