Late 18th Century Mahogany Veneered Architect's Table, workshop of J.J. Chapuis
A late 18th century Directoire mahogany architect's table, attributed to the workshop of Jean-Joseph Chapuis.
A mechanical table with a double-hinged ratcheted top and a gilt-tooled green leather lined writing surface, veneered in beautifully flame-grained polished mahogany. A horizontal molding, on which reading, writing, and drawing materials may be propped, is attached on the writing surface and can be removed if desired. Below a long frieze drawer displaying the beauty of the mahogany veneer with a central small brass button above the central gilt bronze key-hole mount that enables the mechanism for adjusting the height and angle of the writing surface. The interior of the frieze drawer is fitted with a leather-covered writing slide above two compartments. Candle slides underneath the tabletop can be pulled outward to hold adjustable candlesticks. The square, tapering legs with a top molding, brass block feet and castors. Closed, the architect's table gives little hint of its actual purpose - appearing as an elegant console table.
This architect's table is also known as a 'table à la Tronchin' after Théodore Tronchin (Genf 1709- Paris 1781), an unconventional but influential 18th-century Swiss physician who advised a sluggish aristocrat “to write at a raised desk...
Category
1790s French Directoire Antique Gilt Industrial and Work Tables