Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 18

Antique Writing Table by Beurdeley After a Model by Adam Weisweiler

About the Item

Antique writing table by Beurdeley after a model by Adam Weisweiler French, c. 1880 Height 74cm, width 83cm, depth 46cm Crafted by the prestigious 19th century furniture makers Beurdeley (active 1818-1895), this extraordinary writing table showcases a diverse range of styles and techniques, celebrating contemporary technological innovation. The rectangular top of the table is inset with three superb 17th century Japanese lacquer panels, all framed by an elegant ormolu border. In the central panel, a striking carp moves through stylised waves and foliage, surrounded by a wide geometrical border that features several foliage-filled gold-coloured squares. The outer two panels complement the central illustration with various geometric designs that pair the eye-catching gold ground against the abyss of the black background. Mother-of-pearl detailing adds a further eye-catching feature to the tabletop. Below is a frieze inset with three panels. The central panel features a pair of sphinxes who flank the escutcheon, which is cast to depict a female mask. Fruit swags tied together with a ribbon beautifully decorate the two flanking panels and continue around the side panels of the table. Alongside its beautiful appearance and craftsmanship, this table offers the viewer hidden surprises: a secret right-hand drawer can be opened by a hidden button on the back panel, and a concealed button on the inside of the large drawer reveals a beautiful mirror. The interior of the top compartment is decorated with a similar design to the delicate dotted parquetry trellis pattern adorning the interior and outer drawer edges. The table stands upon four tapering legs, the top of which are cast to depict stunning caryatids above repeating foliate designs and terminate in ormolu feet. The underside of the wooden carcass is stamped ‘BEURDELEY / A PARIS’, which testifies to the important design history of this magnificent item. For centuries the Beurdley firm has crafted high quality pieces for elite clients including Napoleon III. This table is a highly impressive example of the calibre of their work, modelled after a design by Adam Weisweiler (d. 1820) for Marie Antoinette’s bedroom at the Château de Saint-Cloud. The fact that this piece was sold directly by the Beurdeley family in around 1920 indicates that the maker most likely kept the piece for his own enjoyment. Furthermore, the extraordinary writing table was previously sold by Christie’s, London in 1998 and was in the collection of the Gérard Calvet Gallery in Paris. Of the utmost craftsmanship and displaying immense innovation, this museum-worthy masterpiece would enhance even the best collections worldwide. Provenance: -Sold by the Beurdeley family, circa 1920 -Sold at Christie’s London, sale 29 Oct 1998, lot 151 -Formerly in the collection of the Gérard Calvet Gallery, Paris
More From This SellerView All
  • Antique Walnut and Marquetry Writing Desk
    Located in London, GB
    This elegant writing desk was created in France in the late 18th century, during the reign of King Louis XVI (1774-1792). The desk is designed in a refined neoclassical style which w...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Desks

    Materials

    Brass

  • French Gilt Bronze and Marquetry Writing Desk After Cressent
    By Charles Cressent
    Located in London, GB
    French gilt bronze and marquetry writing desk after Cressent. French, late 19th century Measures: height 79cm, width 134cm, depth 76cm This very fine desk was retailed by the celebrated English retailers Edwards & Roberts and was designed and crafted in France in the manner of Charles Cressent, who worked during the early eighteenth century in the Régence style. The desk is crafted from rich dark wood finished with chequerboard marquetry and fixed with gilt bronze mounts. The desk features a flat tabletop bordered in gilt bronze, which is raised above an apron and four cabriole legs. The apron features three drawers to the front, each affixed with gilt bronze mounts in a foliate style and modelled as theatrical masks, while the sides of the apron are affixed with gilt bronze grotesques...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century French Régence Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Ormolu

  • Antique English Victorian Marquetry Writing Desk by Donald Ross
    By Donald Ross, Edwards & Roberts
    Located in London, GB
    Antique English Victorian marquetry writing desk by Donald Ross English, c. 1890 Measures: Height 75cm, width 108cm, depth 64cm This superb mahogany writing desk by Donald Ross ...
    Category

    Antique 1890s English Neoclassical Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Ormolu

  • Louis XVI Style Mahogany, Satinwood, Ebony and Ormolu Writing Desk by D. Ross
    By Donald Ross
    Located in London, GB
    Louis XVI style mahogany, satinwood, ebony and ormolu writing desk by Donald Ross English, Late 19th Century Height 73cm, width 108cm, depth 64cm This excellent piece, a table à écrire, or writing desk, was made by Donald Ross, an important English maker active in the late nineteenth century, in the manner of Jean-Henri Riesener, the renowned, highly acclaimed and towering ébéniste of the Louis XVI period in France. It features a rectangular top surface mounted with a gilt-bronze edge, in which is set a finely tooled gilt leather surface. This, like the frieze drawers around the sides, is set within a lattice veneer parquetry border. The table is divided by a central ormolu appliqué...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century English Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Ormolu

  • Neoclassical Style Mahogany Card, Dressing, and Writing Table
    Located in London, GB
    Neoclassical style mahogany card, dressing, and writing table French, 19th century Measures: Height 75cm, width 70cm, depth 45cm This charming table is an ingenious piece of des...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century French Neoclassical Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Brass

  • French Silvered Bronze and Ormolu Neoclassical Style Mantel Clock by Beurdeley
    By Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley
    Located in London, GB
    This charming antique French mantel clock is crafted by famous French maker, Alfred Beurdeley (1847-1919). The work is rendered in the eleg...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century French Neoclassical Mantel Clocks

    Materials

    Bronze

You May Also Like
  • French Louis XVI Style Ormolu and Marquetry Table, Beurdeley Attributed
    By Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    A very fine French 19th century Louis XVI style ormolu-mounted Kingwood and Bois Citronnier Marquetry center table or writing table, attributed to Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley (Fr...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century French Louis XVI Center Tables

    Materials

    Bronze, Ormolu

  • Mechanical Desk by Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley
    By Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley
    Located in New Orleans, LA
    This superb mechanical desk by famed French ebeniste Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley is both an artistic and engineering achievement. A Parisian ca...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century French Desks

    Materials

    Other

  • Vintage French Guéridon Table after Adam Weisweiler
    By Adam Weisweiler
    Located in Forney, TX
    A very fine quality French gueridon, exceptionally executed in the manner of the original design by Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820). Finished in sophis...
    Category

    Late 20th Century Louis XVI Gueridon

    Materials

    Marble, Bronze, Ormolu

  • Antique Georgian Writing Table
    Located in Eindhoven, NL
    Antique mahogany Georgian writing table. The table has beautiful weathered brown leather. This is a cowhide leather top. Sheep leather is often used. The advantage of cowhide leather...
    Category

    Antique 1830s British Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Mahogany

  • Antiqued Mahogany Writing Table
    Located in Westwood, NJ
    An antiqued mahogany writing table, the serpentine parquetry planked top inset with a central burnished leather writing surface, above t...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Baroque Desks

    Materials

    Wood, Leather

  • Antique Slant-Front Drafting Desk Writing Table
    Located in Forney, TX
    A rare and exceptionally inlaid antique slant-front drafting desk. circa 1900 Hand-crafted in the early 20th century, likely French, one piece desk on frame form, having a sloped fr...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

    Materials

    Felt, Ebony, Burl, Rosewood, Palisander, Maple, Mahogany, Kingwood

Recently Viewed

View All