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Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

LOUIS XVI STYLE

Reflecting the final era of royal opulence before the upheaval of the French Revolution, antique Louis XVI furniture features more angular shapes than the Rococo curves of the Louis XV style, harkening back to the imposing grandeur of Louis XIV.

Dating between 1750 and 1800, an era that overlapped with the last king of France whose reign was cut short by the guillotine, Louis XVI furniture, known as the goût grec, is emblematic of the neoclassical revision that French furniture underwent during the second half of the 18th century.

Authentic Louis XVI furniture characteristics include clean lines and carved details such as scrolls and acanthus flourishes that were inspired by ancient Greece and Rome. This was informed by a burgeoning interest in antiquity in the 18th century, owing to new archaeological excavations at sites including Pompeii and Herculaneum. It largely eclipsed the more East Asian–influenced ornamentation of Louis XV for something more geometric and symmetrical.

The Louis XVI style was defined by what was being created for the palatial rooms at Versailles and Fontainebleau, particularly for the queen, with cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener being a favorite of Marie-Antoinette’s for his luxurious pieces accented with gilded bronze and marquetry. Furniture maker Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené was also a major designer of the period, with his pieces for the royal residences adorned with giltwood and neoclassical touches like tapered columns for chair legs and laurel leaf carvings. Cabinetmaker Adam Weisweiler occasionally incorporated into his furniture porcelain panels produced by Sèvres, a popular manufacturer of European ceramics that served the crown with serveware, vases and other decorative objects.

Find a collection of antique Louis XVI seating, tables, cabinets and other furniture on 1stDibs.

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Style: Louis XVI
Fine French Bronze Mounted Leather Top French Directoire Bureau Plat Desk
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This is a superb, French Directoire style desk. The desk is adorned with bronze and brass ormolu and a gorgeous gold tooled leather embossed top. The desk features inlaid burnished t...
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1920s French Vintage Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Louis XVI Style Desk With Leather Top
Located in Austin, TX
Writing table desk in the Louis XVI style made of Mahogany. The desk has been ebonized and finished in a lustrous Museum quality French polish and boasts an embossed leather top. Fea...
Category

1920s Vintage Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Late 18th Century French Louis XVI Period Walnut Writing Table with Leather Top
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This small scale late eighteenth century French Louis XVI period walnut lady's writing desk features a gold tooled black leather top. A single drawer pulls out from the side using a ...
Category

Late 18th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Antique Petite French Carved Oak Secretary Writing Desk Table Louis XVI c1890
Located in Shreveport, LA
19th century Petite French carved oak secretary writing desk Louis XVI style ~Direct from France~ ~Beautiful antique French carved oak secretary with fabulous detailing throughout~ ...
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19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Style Mahogany Desk with Bronze Detailing
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This late nineteenth century French Louis XVI style mahogany desk features bronze accents on all sides. Its three drawers of dovetail construction are detailed with bronze trim and k...
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Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Small French Louis XVI Desk
Located in Westwood, NJ
This desk brings timeless elegance and delicate refinement to your home. Crafted from Acacia wood in a soft Country mahogany finish, this piece showcases a smooth top, and turret cor...
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21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

20th Century French Louis XVI Style Desk
Located in Atlanta, GA
This elegant 20th-century French desk embodies the timeless sophistication of the Louis XVI style. Crafted from solid wood with a rich, warm finish, it features clean, linear lines a...
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20th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

French writing Table 2 drawers in Solid Cherry Wood - Louis XVI Directoire style
Located in Landivy, FR
This writing table is part of the Mélanie collection, a modern interpretation of the French Directoire style of the late 18th century. This style is famous for its straight, classi...
Category

2010s French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood, Oak, Cherry

Antique Louis XVI -Style desk with leather top
Located in Houston, TX
Handsome louis XVI style desk with original leather top. It has a drawer that glides easily and has a lock. It has a reeded leg ending in a gilt capped foot.
Category

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

Materials

Walnut

French Louis XVI Style 19th Century Walnut Desk with Cross-Banding and Marquetry
Located in Atlanta, GA
An Italian Louis XVI style walnut desk from the 19th century with five drawers, cross-banded inlay, floral marquetry and tapered legs. This exquisite 19th-century Italian Louis XVI s...
Category

19th Century Italian Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

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

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

Italian Louis XVI Style Desk
Located in Houston, TX
Italian Louis XVI Style Desk. This handsome Italian desk or writing table has 2 side drawers and 1 center drawer and bronze pulls. Our desk is finished on all sides so it's the perfe...
Category

1940s Italian Vintage Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Louis XVI Walnut Fall Front Desk / Secretaire
Located in Darmstadt, DE
This Louis XVI walnut slant-front secretary desk is a fine example of 18th-century French craftsmanship and sophistication, ideal for collectors and interior enthusiasts seeking time...
Category

18th Century German Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Spruce, Walnut

High Adjustable Architect's Desk, Writing Desk, circa 1800
Located in Greven, DE
Antique height-adjustable desk, architect's table, around 1800 France Mahogany circa 1800 Dimensions: H x W x D: 78 x 84 x 50 Height-adjustable to approx. 120 cm, can be folded up...
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Early 1800s French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany

French Regency Louis XVI Kingwood Marquetry Ormolu-Mounted Leather Top Desk
Located in South Bend, IN
An outstanding French Regency Louis XVI style executive writing desk with ram heads France, 20th Century Kingwood, with inlaid marquetry, bronze trim and ornate ormolu mounts, and ...
Category

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

Materials

Bronze

19th Century Louis XVI Bureau à Cylindre or Roll Top Desk
Located in Winter Park, FL
A fine early 19th century Louis XVI period bureau à cylindre, or roll top desk, made of solid walnut with marquetry veneers of walnut, mahogany and cherry. Pine as a secondary wood. ...
Category

Early 19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Fine Quality Coromandel and Marquetry Inlaid Victorian Period Kidney Lady Desk
Located in Miami, FL
A fine quality Coromandel Victorian style kidney shaped writing table. The kidney shaped top having a fine quality velum green leather writing surface with gilt and blind tooled deta...
Category

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

Materials

Walnut

Early 19th Century Louis XVI Style Gentleman's Bureau Dressing Table Vanity Desk
By Jean-Henri Riesener
Located in Forney, TX
A rare and exceptional large French speckled plum pudding mahogany rosewood marble ormolu flip-top mirrored gentleman's bureau dressing table / writing desk (poudreuse coiffeuse de t...
Category

Early 19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble, Brass, Bronze

Antique Louis XVI Table Writing Desk In Walnut - Italy 19th
Located in Atlanta, GA
This elegant Louis XVI-style writing desk, crafted in solid walnut, dates to the early 19th century and originates from Italy’s Emilia Romagna region. With its restrained lines and r...
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19th Century Italian Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

French Painted Wood Skai & Brass Side Table Writing Table One Drawer, circa 1910
Located in Labrit, Landes
French antique side or writing table, circa 1910. Louis 16 style One large drawer The top is recovered with skai. Good antique condition Shipping: 45 / 85 / 75 cm 12 kg
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Antique Petite French Ormolu Mounted Bureau Plat 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is an fine and beautiful petite French Louis XV Revival goncalo alves and ormolu mounted bureau plat, circa 1850 in date. This fantastic bureau plat features an ornate serpentin...
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1850s French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Louis XVI Style Desk, circa 1900
Located in Greding, DE
Louis XVI style desk, crafted around 1900. The tabletop features burgundy leather with a surrounding brass trim. Three shallow drawers with refined brass fittings offer practical sto...
Category

Early 1900s Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Late 1900's Louis XVI Style, Ormolu, Bureau Plat, Cartonnier, Writing Desk!
Located in Austin, TX
Gorgeous Late 1900's Louis XVI Style, Ormolu, Bureau Plat, Cartonnier, Writing Desk! Late 1900's Louis XVI Style, Ormolu, Bureau Plat, Cartonnier, Writing Desk! Bureau Plat, Carton...
Category

20th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Style Hand Carved Walnut Center Table
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This Louis XVI style walnut writing table from the late 19th century features a hand carved element of a classic crossed torch and quiver with a crown of laurels. Its beveled top res...
Category

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

Materials

Walnut

Louis XVI Style French Bureau Plat, Circa 1860 - 1890
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Louis XVI style mahogany writing desk with satinwood and French walnut marquetry with bronze banding. The desk is double sided with the original...
Category

Mid-19th Century Unknown Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

French Mahogany Desk
Located in Westwood, NJ
Crafted with figured flame mahogany, this writing desk features a luxurious leather inlaid surface. The meticulously designed structure includes five drawers surrounding a generous k...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Early 19th Century French Black Lacquered Bureau Plat
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
An impressive early 19th Century French Louis XVI style, black lacquered bureau plat. With is original leather top and bronze mounts. Circa 1800.
Category

Early 19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

French Louis XVI Style Desk
Located in Austin, TX
French Louis XVI style desk of mahogany, finished with a Museum quality French polish. The contours of the writing table are covered with gilt brass trims while Pearl trims adorn the...
Category

1930s Vintage Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Mahogany

Antique French Louis XVI Neoclassical Double Faced Desk
Located in Dallas, TX
Antique French Louis XVI Neoclassical Double Faced desk has captured the essence of the architecture and embellishment of ancient Greece and Rome! Han...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

Louis XVI Ladies’ Desk, around 1800
Located in Greding, DE
Small ladies' desk with three drawers and large gilt bronze fittings on the front. The desk stands on high pointed legs with ball feet and is inlaid with fillet strips and framing pa...
Category

Early 1800s Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass, Bronze

Neoclassical Desk, Louis XVI Period 1780
Located in Belmont, MA
This original Louis XVI Desk stands out for its beautiful walnut veneer which is additionally embellished with intarsia. The desk stands on four tapering square legs. It has three dr...
Category

1780s German Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Antique French Side Table Writing Desk Oak Beveled Top Carved Decorated Legs
Located in Carimate, Como
Beautiful French side table or console table or writing desk, characterized by the handcrafted carved beveled edge table-top and raised on two stunning carved legs and central cross-...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Wood

Early 19th Century French Louis XVI Style Oak Writing Table or Side Table
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This early nineteenth century Louis XVI style oak side table features hand carvings on all four sides. Its beveled top rests above a fluted apron. The hand pegged apron is detailed with a rosette on each end. A carved gadrooned garland appointed with a ribbon at the top details the back and a man...
Category

Early 19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Oak

19th Century French Louis XVI Walnut Writing Table ~ Desk
Located in Dallas, TX
19th Century French Louis XVI Walnut Writing Table ~ Desk makes an attractive addition to any room, and can double as a center table as it is beautifully embellished from all angles!...
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1890s French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Italy Mid-18th Century Olive Root Wood Desk with Drawings in Regency Style
Located in Brescia, IT
This Italian desk, was manufactured circa 1750 in Tuscany Italy by master cabinet makers in a pregiate wood, the olive root; the fine proportion and the ele...
Category

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

Materials

Olive

French Louis XVI Style Writing Desk Bureauplatt, Bronze Gilt Mounts Leather Top
Located in Miami, FL
Crafted in Paris, France, circa 1870 in the style of Francois Linke and built of walnut , the large antique desk stands on elegant cabriole legs dec...
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Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

19th Century French Walnut Louis XVI Desk
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Beautiful 19th Century French Walnut Louis XVI Desk with immaculate new embossed leather writing surface. French Louis XVI bureau plat table desk...
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19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

French 19th Century Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze-Mounted Center, Writing Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A fine French 19th century Louis XVI style ebonized gilt bronze-mounted tulipwood, kingwood and fruitwood floral marquetry single-drawer center table, desk or writing table. The ornately decorated marquetry top, centered with a floral bouquet, butterflies, scrolls and acanthus. The raised on four fluted ebonized legs surmounted with gilt-bronze spigots...
Category

Early 1900s French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

19th Rectangular Bouillotte Louis XVI Desk Table with Bronze Mounts
Located in Miami, FL
This important writing table is after Jean-Henri Riesener, perhaps the most important furniture maker working in Paris during the reign of Louis XVI. The desk thus demonstrates a cur...
Category

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

Materials

Marble, Bronze

French Louis XVI Period 18th Century Walnut Desk with Carved Fluted Apron
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French Louis XVI period walnut desk from the 18th century, with single drawer, carved fluted motifs, tapered legs and dark patina. Created in France during the 18th century, this w...
Category

18th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Antique Louis XVI Writing Desk, Cognac Leather, Bonze & Brass
Located in Senonches, Centre-Val de Loire
Antique Louis XVI style desk with cognac leather top and gold embossed frieze, fluted legs finished with golden bronze clogs. Three dovetail drawers with brass details. The locks wo...
Category

1910s French Vintage Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Leather, Wood

19th Century Louis XVI Style Leather Top Writing Table / Bureau Plat
Located in Madrid, ES
A 19th century Louis XVI style French writing table or desk, known as a "bureau plat”. It has a leather top writing surface, ormolu bronze details, and three locking drawers with fal...
Category

19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Ormolu

French 19th Century Louis XVI Style Petite Writing Desk
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
An ingenious leather-topped mahogany writing desk with hidden extensions on each side to add occasional surface area. The leaves on the sides are a matcha green leather framed by gol...
Category

19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass

18th Century Louis XVI Bureau à Cylindre or Roll Top Desk
Located in Winter Park, FL
A fine late 18th century Louis XVI period bureau à cylindre, or roll top desk, made of solid walnut with marquetry veneers of walnut, mahogany and cherry. In two parts, the cabinet a...
Category

Late 18th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble, Brass

French Louis XVI Style Satinwood and Inlaid Kidney Desk
Located in Queens, NY
French Louis XVI style (19th Century) satinwood and inlaid 6 legged kidney shaped desk with side slides.
Category

19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Satinwood

French Napoleon III Period Ebonized Desk, 1870s
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
An imposing Napoleon III center table (or 'Table de Milieu') in ebonized fruit wood, rectangular in shape, with rounded sides. Its ornate top, which is bordered all around with a gilt bronze frieze and two further inner bands, features at its centre an intricate marquetry inlaid design of a foliage cartouche framing a vase of flowers. The smoothly curving belt of the table encloses a frieze drawer on one long side, with a repeat, inlaid design that echoes that of the top. The table rests on four turned, tapered and fluted legs, ending in toupie feet, and these are connected by two half-moon spacers...
Category

19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Brass, Bronze

18th Century Louis XVI Period Desk or 'Bureau à Dos D'âne'
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
This elegant writing desk, known quirkily as a “bureau à dos d’âne” (donkey’s back desk), is beautifully veneered in rosewood, including reverse diamonds and butterfly-wings, which a...
Category

18th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

French Marquetry inlaid Lady's desk, 1890.
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A fine quality late 19th Century French free standing Ladies bureau de dame. Having wonderful floral marquetry inlaid decoration, drawers above, an inset leather top, drawers beneath...
Category

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

Materials

Ormolu

Louis XVI Rolltop Desk, France 1780, Mahogany
Located in Belmont, MA
Louis XVI Rolltop or cylinder desk, France, 1780. This original Louis XVI cylinder desk has an elegant mahogany veneer with satinwood inlays. I...
Category

1780s French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Mahogany, Satinwood

19th Century French Louis XVI Style Ebonized Desk
Located in Houston, TX
19th Century French Louis XVI Style Ebonized Desk. Outstanding 19th century French Louis XVI style desk, writing table, bureau plat or center table with a single drawer, solid bronze...
Category

19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

18th Century Italian Louis XVI Walnut Antique Desk
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
We present this elegant antique Italian desk dating back to the second half of the 18th century, Louis XVI period. An extremely refined desk. Ma...
Category

Late 18th Century Italian Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Bureau Plat Louis XVI Style in Marquetry and Gilt Bronze
Located in BARSAC, FR
Elegant Louis XVI style Bureau Plat in mahogany and marquetry in rosewood frieze. Beautiful ornamentation of very finely chiseled gilt bronze. Moroccan leather top surrounded b...
Category

Early 1900s French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

French Maison Jansen Attributed Louis XVI Style Ebonized Desk
Located in Houston, TX
French Maison Jansen Attributed Louis XVI Style Ebonized Desk. We offer a gorgeous antique French Louis XVI style ebonized desk or bureau plat with a red leather top embossed with g...
Category

1920s French Vintage Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Antique C1870s French Louis XVI Style Inlaid King Wood Ladies Writing Desk
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
For customers that require professional insured delivery we are proud to have teamed up with a nationwide professional delivery company that will assist with coordinating your delive...
Category

19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze

Louis XVI Revival Kingwood Desk
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
20th Century French Louis XVI Revival desk. With finely cast guilt mount casts, kingwood cross banding and brass fillets to legs. Circa 1920.
Category

20th Century French Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Kingwood

18th Century French Walnut Writing Table
Located in High Point, NC
18th century walnut writing table with a banded and beveled edge around the top, following down to a simple apron containing a singl...
Category

Late 18th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Walnut

Exceptional 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted English Partners Desk
Located in Long Island City, NY
An Exceptional and Unusual 19th Century Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Mounted English Partners Desk Made for the French Market The rectangular top with gilt-tooled leather writing-sur...
Category

19th Century English Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Large French 19th Century Louis XVI Style Giltwood Carved Center Hall Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine and large French 19th century Louis XVI style giltwood carved center hall table with marble top. The rectangular shaped top with r...
Category

19th Century French Antique Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables

Materials

Marble

Louis Xvi desks and writing tables for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Louis XVI desks and writing tables for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage desks and writing tables created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include tables, case pieces and storage cabinets and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Louis XVI desks and writing tables made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original desks and writing tables, popular names associated with this style include Maison Jansen, John Vesey, Paul Sormani, and A.M.E Fournier. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for desks and writing tables differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $956 and tops out at $230,146 while the average work can sell for $8,500.

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