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Desks and Writing Tables

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Desks and Writing Tables For Sale
Style: Hollywood Regency
Style: Louis XV
Antique Louis XV Provincial Style Leather Top Writing Table
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Antique Louis XV provincial style leather top writing / games table, late 19th century. With an old tooled leather top, carved aprons, with carved c scrolled...
Category

Late 19th Century European Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Oak

19th Century Italian Louis XV Style Walnut Large Writing Desk
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
Majestic antique Italian louis XV style large writing desk. Rare and precious walnut wood. Comfortable size for a practical use. The desk has elegan...
Category

1880s Italian Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Rounded Italian Executive Desk in Louis XV Style Marquetry Bronze 1950 Inlaid
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
Breathtaking & impressive! This rounded Italian Louis XV style executive desk with inlaid wood & bronze. A desk build to impress and impress she does, truly amazing craftsmanship ...
Category

19th Century Italian Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

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 Boulle st. desk. The desk is raised by four elegant cabriole legs with fine fitted fol...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass, Ormolu

French 19th Century Louis XV St. Kingwood and Ormolu Desk, Attributed to Linke
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A stunning and extremely high quality French 19th century Louis XV st. kingwood and ormolu desk, attributed to François Linke. The desk is raised by elegant cabriole legs with fitted...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

Rococo Style Writing Desk Mounted with Gilt Bronze
Located in London, GB
Rococo style writing desk mounted with gilt bronze French, late 19th century Measures: Height 78cm, width 134cm, depth 64cm This superb ...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu, Bronze

Louis XV Style Writing Desk by François Linke
Located in New Orleans, LA
Superior craftsmanship and elegant bronze work characterize this tambour front roll top writing desk by François Linke, the most important French ébéniste of his time. Linke is celeb...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Louis XV Style Folding Desk with One Drawer, 1950
Located in Miami, FL
Louis XV style folding desk with one drawer. An exceptional Louis XV style desk, made of early Italian antique oak wood. This piece screams high quality. Beautiful grain and patina....
Category

Mid-20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Elegant French Louis XV Period Secretary Writing Desk with Hidden Compartment
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French Louis XV period Rococo secretary with hidden compartment, circa 1760. This antique French writing desk features a slant-leaf front...
Category

Early 18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

19th Century French Louis XV Style Walnut Writing Table with Red Leather Top
Located in Dallas, TX
A Louis XV style French writing table in walnut with bronze hardware and an antique red leather tooled top. This beautiful table is probably from ...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

20th Century antique Louis XV Style Bureau Plat Writing Table Piano Black
Located in Berlin, DE
Bureau plat writing table in the style of Louis XV style, silvered bronze fittings. Piano lacquer black on solid beech wood. Heavily arched, four-sided passively curved tripod frame ...
Category

20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Beech

19th Century Louis XV Style Bureau Plat Writing Table
Located in Berlin, DE
Bureau plat in the style of the Louis XV Napoleon III Paris, circa 1850-1880. In Bois-Satiné veneer, all-round full-length mirror veneer with seed beads. With very finely chiselled,...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood, Beech

French Louis XV Black Lacquer Bronze Figural Ormolu Bureau Plat Writing Desk
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French Louis XV ebonized black lacquer bronze figural Ormolu Bureau plat writing desk. Item features faux 3 drawer finished back (image 10), ornate bronz...
Category

Mid-20th Century Spanish Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Majestic French Bureau Plat Desk antique According to Andre C. Boulle bronzed
Located in Berlin, DE
Root veneer on solid beech and oak. Extremely finely chiselled bronze. Slightly protruding, profiled tabletop and gold-imprinted leather insert, flanked by a grotesque mask on each c...
Category

18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Writing Desk by Poteau
Located in London, GB
Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted writing desk by Poteau French, late 19th century Size: Height 78cm, width 180cm, depth 87cm This beautiful Louis XV style writing desk is rais...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Louis XV-Style Gilt Bronze Cylinder Desk by François Linke
Located in New York, NY
A stunning cylinder desk with roller shutter in the style of Louis XV, plum pudding mahogany, modeled by Jean-Henri Riesener, signed François Linke. The upper structure fitted with t...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Régence Style Marquetry Writing Desk
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
A magnificent and very rare Régence style marquetry inlaid grand bureau plat or writing desk. Inscribed to the carcass 'Moreaux 72'. Dating from the second half of the nineteenth century this magnificent and very rare bureau plat has finely cast rocaille gilt-bronze mounts and is decorated overall with truly breath-taking seventeenth century marquetry, depicting fantastical townscapes, knights, soldiers, hunting and architectural-scenes. Of serpentine rectangular form the top is veneered with superb marquetry panels within a foliate scrolled border and a rocaille shell-cast gilt-bronze surround, both sides featuring a recessed central drawer flanked on each side by a drawer applied with male and female terms, scrolled handles, and reserves with conforming drawers; the bombé sides are centred by foliate scrolls, and the whole raised on cabriole legs headed by cartouches with foliate entwined chutes terminating in scrolled sabots. Of impressive scale this fine bureau plat, in the manner of a partners desk, features working drawers to each side. This model of bureau plat was made by a small number of celebrated Parisian cabinet makers in the second half of the 19th century including Beurdeley, Cremer and Befort Jeune. It is incredibly rare to see this model of bureau plat inlaid in marquetry. The exceptional quality and style indicate the use of older reused marquetry, almost certainly dating from the late 17th century and originating from the Augsburg region of Germany. Similar models but lacking the exceptional marquetry inlay can be found in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch at Bowhill, and the Earl of Normanton at Somerlely. Christopher Payne notes that the latter was part of a pair sold by the London dealer Toms & Luscombe in 1871. He illustrates the present bureau plat in his book ‘European Furniture of the 19th Century’ (p. 88-89), along with two related desks minus the marquetry inlay (p. 92 -93). The exceptional and highly complex marquetry inlay and intarsia work, that sets this important bureau plat apart from other extant examples, would originally have formed the decorative panels of a late 17th century table cabinet, almost certainly ascribable to the Augsburg region of Germany. Augsburg emerged from the middle of the 16th century as the German centre of luxury cabinet making for the international market. In particular, the development of marquetry contributed to this prominent position, favoured by the ready availability of indigenous woods and the reputation that Augsburg had the best craftsmen able to cut thin layers of veneers in the most intricate motifs (C.S. Wood, ‘The Perspective Treatise in Ruins: Lorenz Stöer, Geometria et perspectiva, 1567’, Studies in the History of Art, no. 59, p. 246). Table cabinets, conceived as a form of Wunderkammer or cabinets of curiosities, were intended as repositories for all manner of wondrous and exotic objects and by the 1550s the grandest cabinets in Europe were being made in Augsburg. Decorated almost entirely with sumptuous marquetry, often depicting perspective views of ruins and fantastical townscapes, they become by the 1590s highly regarded as important diplomatic gifts. Fine Augsburg marquetry panels remained popular throughout the ages and were frequently re-used to create or embellish new items of furniture, such as this magnificent bureau plat. Their inclusion was not only for their highly decorative appeal, but to contemporary eyes, a means by which to imbue a new creation with a sense of true historical authenticity. The importance of such panels is often reflected in the high cost involved in repurposing them. A fine example of this is the celebrated 17th century cabinet on stand...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

Louis XV Style Bureau Plat Writing Desk, Rosewood and Ormulu
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Antique Louis XV style bureau plat writing desk, rosewood and Ormulu mounts, raised on cabriole legs. Tooled leather top. Dimensions: 43” W x 31.5” H x 25.5” D Side drawers (2): ...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Fine French 19th Century Louis XV Style Giltwood Carved Figural Center Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine French 19th century Louis XV style giltwood carved figural center or hall table fitted with a Brêche violette marble top. The rectangular frame with four scrolled cabriol...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble

Vintage Oval Lacquered Vanity Dressing Table or Desk with a Leather Panel
Located in Miami, FL
Vintage oval lacquered vanity dressing table or desk with a leather panel Offered for sale is a vintage custom made gloss black lacquer oval vanity dressing table or writing table...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Louis XV Style Bureau Plat
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Attractive Louis XV style bureau plat, gilt embossed tanned leather top writing surface centered on a beautiful satinwood veneered panel and...
Category

Late 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Fine 19th Century French Louis XV Bronze Mounted Kingwood & Walnut Writing Desk
Located in Hopewell, NJ
A very fine and original French 19th century Louis XV bronze mounted kingwood and walnut bureau plat. The writing desk has serpentine shape gilt banding around the top surface, three...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

20th Century Elegant Veneered Bureau Plat or Writing Desk in Louis XV Style
Located in Berlin, DE
Elegant veneered bureau plat or desk in Louis XV style Solid beechwood and veneer. Very fine, floral bronze fittings. Curved and pronounced or arched wooden body. Frame base with...
Category

20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

19th Century French Louis XV Leather Top Rosewood Marquetry & Bronze Ladies Desk
Located in Dallas, TX
This elegant antique rosewood table was crafted in France, circa 1860. The writing table with serpentine front and bombe sides, stands on cabrio...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Fine Louis XV Style Marquetry Bureau Plat Attributed to François Linke
Located in Montreal, QC
A fine and Important Louis XV style Bureau plat attributed to François Linke (1855-1946) after a model by Jean François Oeben. Typical of the work by François Linke, this desk featur...
Category

1890s French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

20th Century Luxurious White Bureau Plat / Writing Desk in Louis XV Style
Located in Berlin, DE
20th century luxurious white bureau plat / writing desk in Louis XV style Solid beechwood colored in white. Very fine, floral bronze fittings. Curved ...
Category

20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Hollywood Regency Ebony Ladies Desk Louis XV Style Stamped Jansen
Located in Stamford, CT
Hollywood Regency ebony ladies desk. Finley crafted Louis XV style stamped Jansen flip front desk having sleek and slender legs supporting a lager center drawer flanked by smaller si...
Category

Mid-20th Century Hollywood Regency Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

French Bureau Plat / Desk in Louis XV, Paris, circa 1880
Located in Berlin, DE
French Bureau plat / desk in Louis XV, Paris, circa 1880. Solid beech wood veneer. Extremely fine, floral bronze fittings. Cambered and pronounced / arched wooden body. Four-side...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

18th Century French Louis XV Carved Serpentine Cherry Desk with Parquetry Top
Located in Dallas, TX
This elegant antique partner desk was created in the Poitou region of France, circa 1790. Made of wild cherry timber, the large writing table stand...
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Late 18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Louis XV Rococo Mahogany, Satinwood and Bureau Plat Executive Writing Desk
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Vintage midcentury era Louis XV Rococo style executive writing desk made from mahogany, satinwood, and bureau Plat with hand-cast bronze accents. It features three lockable horizonta...
Category

1950s Spanish Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Louis XV Style Lacquered and Gilt Bronze-Mounted Bureau Plat
Located in Dallas, TX
Fine, French bureau plat or writing table desk. Made in the grand Louis XV taste featuring bronze mounts with white lacquered frame. With original key. Fine rocaille motif moulded mo...
Category

20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

French Louis XV Late 18th Century Cherry Table with Drawer from the Rhône Valley
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French Louis XV cherry table from the Rhône Valley, with long drawer and cabriole legs. Born in France in the later years of the 18th century, this cherry table features a rectangu...
Category

18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Cherry

French Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze-Mounted Kingwood Writing Desk
Located in London, GB
This beautiful desk, beautifully finished in kingwood, leather and gilt bronze, is a fantastic piece of 19th century French design in the Louis XV style. Elegant, beautifully crafted...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

19th Century, French Louis XV Style, Lacquered Wood Desk
Located in IT
19th century, French Louis XV style, lacquered wood desk This elegant lacquered wooden desk was made in France between the end of the 19th centu...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Ebony and Parcel-Gilt Decorated Three-Drawer Desk, Maison Jansen attr.
Located in Stamford, CT
Ebony and gilt Hollywood Regency desk. An ebony and parcel-gilt decorated three drawer desk or writing table. This finely crafted desk by Maison Jansen sports a custom glass top sitt...
Category

Mid-20th Century Hollywood Regency Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Louis XV Style Bureau Plat or Writing Desk with Bronze Mounts
Located in Barntrup, DE
This fine Louis XV-style desk has a leather top framed by bronze borders. The writing desk is raised on cabriole legs headed by floral and leaf cast mounts that have finely finished ...
Category

1950s European Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

French Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze-Mounted Kingwood Three-Drawer Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A French Louis XV style gilt bronze-mounted kingwood bureau plat (desk). The gilt banded rectangular top set with gilt bronze acanthus mounts at the corners centering a gilt banded i...
Category

20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Kingwood

Antique French Louis XV Small Inlaid Petite Demilune Writing Desk Made in France
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique French Louis XV style small inlaid petite Demilune writing desk, made in France. Item features marble top, green leather pullout or pull-...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble, Bronze

18th Century Italian Louis XV Writing Table Inlaid Rosewood Center Desk
Located in Milan, IT
Elegant 18th century Italian rosewood center table from Tuscany, Italy, a rectangular shaped Louis XV veneered desk with one small drawer on the front, raised by elegant à cabriole legs with superlative and contrasting ebony and box wood inlaid profiles, ending with curled feet. This antique Italian table...
Category

Mid-18th Century Italian Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Boxwood, Ebony, Rosewood

French 19th Century Louis XV Style Kingwood Gilt-Bronze Mounted Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A fine and large French 19th century Louis XV style gilt bronze-mounted kingwood and tulipwood bureau plat (Desk or writing table). The shaped re...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

French 19th Century Louis XV Style Flamed Mahogany and Ormolu Bureau Plat Desk
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A magnificent French 19th century Louis XV style flamed mahogany and ormolu Bureau plat desk. The desk is raised by handsome cabriole legs with exquisitely chased ormolu acanthus lea...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

French 19th Century Louis XV Style Ebonized Wood and Gilt Bronze-Mounted Desk
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A fine French 19th century Louis XV style ebonized wood and gilt bronze-mounted figural bureau plat (desk) with three drawers and leather top. The shaped rectangular top enclosing a ...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Hollywood Regency Desks in Maison Jansen Manner, Ebonized, Bronze Mounted Pair
Located in Stamford, CT
Hollywood Regency Desks, Maison Jansen Attributed, Ebonized, Bronze, Refinished. A Compatible pair of Hollywood Regency desks in Maison Jansen manner. Two French ebony based leather...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Hollywood Regency Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Wood

Custom Painted Grosfeld House Style Table
Located in New York, NY
Custom painted Grosfeld House style table. Hollywood Regency style.
Category

1950s Hollywood Regency Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

French Louis XV Period Tric Trac or Backgammon Table Stamped P. Roussel
Located in Pembroke, MA
French Louis XV period (18th century) "Tric Trac" or Backgammon table stamped by the maker, "P. Roussel," and the guild "JME" (Jurande des Menuisiers et Ebenistes --translated as the...
Category

Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Fine Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze-Mounted Tulipwood Bureau Plat
Located in Atlanta, GA
A fine Louis XV style gilt bronze-mounted tulipwood bureau plat. Late 19th century. The replaced gilt-stamped green leather writing surface with...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

20th Century Louis XV Style Womens Tulip Veneer, Bureau Plat or Desk
Located in Berlin, DE
Tulip wood veneered. Extremely fine, floral, bronze fittings. Four-sided, slightly curved, three-edged frame base with wide knee patch on elegantly curved squares in sabots. Slightly...
Category

20th Century Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

French Louis XV Walnut Kidney Kneehole Desk
Located in New York, NY
19th century French Louis XV style walnut kidney shaped kneehole desk with gilt trim and brass scroll handles.
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Very Rare Maison Charles Directoire Console Table or Sideboard
Located in Munich, DE
A very rare piece of furniture in very good condition. we can offer a few different pieces of the directoire range.
Category

1960s French Hollywood Regency Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Steel

Fine French 19th Century Louis XV Style Tulipwood and Ormolu-Mounted Ladies Desk
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine French 19th century tulipwood, mahogany and ormolu-mounted Bureau de Dame Lady's secretary desk, attributed to Maison Millet. The supe...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Large Louis XV Style 19th Century Bureau Plat
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality 19th century French kingwood parquetry inlaid Louis XV style freestanding bureau plate. Having an inset leather top, five oak lined drawers to one side, dummy dra...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

18th Century Louis XV Wood French Writing Table
Located in IT
The very unusual and particular center desk, called also bureau plat, was made in France, at Paris, in the 18th century, Louis XV period. It has a refined veneer in wood and a slidin...
Category

Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

French Louis XV Style Kingwood Veneer Desk with Leather Top and Brass Hardware
Located in New York, NY
French Louis XV style 19th century kingwood inlaid veneer desk with inset brown leather top with gilt embossed edge design with a brass top border and brass fluted trim legs and feet.
Category

19th Century Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

French Louis XV Style Walnut Bureau Plat
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Vintage midcentury French walnut bureau plat with parquetry top & pull outs on each side. Bronze pulls & mounts..    
Category

20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

19th Century, French Louis XV Style Wood Centre Desk with Gilt Bronze
Located in IT
19th century, French Louis XV style wood centre desk with gilt bronze This elegant centre desk, therefore finished on all four sides, was made in the 19th century in France, in the Louis XV style. The slightly wavy and curved top has a green leather insert, stamped along the gold border. On the front the cabinet has three drawers: a central and two deeper side. The four legs are arched and give gracefulness to the overall composition. The feet have bronze gilded and chiselled tips with volutes and vegetable...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Stacked Lucite Dining Table or Desk Base Vintage Architectural Hollywood Regency
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Amazing vintage stacked Hollywood Regency Lucite base which can be used as a dining table or an office desk. Glass top not included. The many cuts and facets on the edges make this s...
Category

20th Century American Hollywood Regency Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Lucite

Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze-Mounted Bois-Satiné Writing Table
Located in Mt Kisco, NY
A fine French kidney shaped bureau plat desk, having an inset beige leather top. Two side drawers over cabriole legs with ormolu mounts.
Category

1940s French Louis XV Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

18th Century Louis XV Baroque Walnut Fall Front Desk/Secretaire
Located in Darmstadt, DE
The desk is from the time around 1730 and covered with a beautiful marquetry of different walnut / walnut root wood on a pine body. All three locks are original from that time as wel...
Category

Early 18th Century French Louis XV Antique Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut, Pine

Antique and Vintage Desks and Writing Tables

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.

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