Louis XvI Secretary with Marquetry, 1790s

The Netherlands
Amaranth, satinwood and others
Louis XVI around 1790

Dimensions: H x W x D: 149 x 89 x 46 cm

:
Elaborately designed Dutch “Secrétaire à abattant” from the late 18th century with pleasing proportions.

A piece of furniture with two doors at the bottom, the writing flap above and a wide drawer at the top, standing on tapered square feet set at the corners and ending in brass knobs.
The plinth frame, like the crosspiece between the doors and the writing flap, is decorated with fillet ribbons and a horizontal diamond. Underneath, we see a marvellously fire-shaded compartment, which protrudes from the base in a semi-circle at the bottom, breaking up the straight lines of the piece of furniture.

The entire front of the furniture is decorated with Louis XVI hangings made of fillet ribbons, tassels and bows. Lemon wood medallions held by strings adorn the doors and writing flap. These works of art are framed by double-layered and corner-twisted bands of dark ebony and maple threads.
The design of the striking moulding, the incredibly fine marquetry on the edge of the top panel and the coin bands on the sides of the furniture are also remarkable.

If we open the writing flap, which is held by iron hinges, we see a tidy interior with nine drawers, a door and three open compartments. The drawers are lined with contrasting satinwood and amaranth, while the door is adorned with three squares, one on top of the other.

Worth knowing:
The “Secrétaire à abattant” furniture type has its origins in the Italian Renaissance around 1500, and several of these early examples have been preserved – large, imposing pieces of furniture made of walnut with many carvings.
Long forgotten, the secrétaire à abattant was rediscovered around 1750. Designed to be placed against the wall, it differs from its predecessors such as the classic bureau plat, the secretaire en pente and the cylinder bureau. All of this furniture was intended to be placed in the centre of a room.

The Secrétaire à abattant consists of two parts: an upper part with a drop-down flap (abattre means to drop down) and a lower part with two doors or three drawers (Secrétaire en commode).
Most Dutch secretaire à abattant are faithful imitations of the French model, although the veneers and marquetry motifs used are often very different. Medallions or lacquer panels were used, which were hung on bows and ribbons, motifs that are also known from France, but with a much simpler design.

Until the mid-1780s, the secrétaire à abattant in France stood on block-shaped legs or continuous side columns, a custom that was adopted in the Netherlands at least until the end of the 1780s. Thereafter, the secrétaire were placed on short, conical legs, usually resting on brass ball feet, following the French model.

Condition:
Refurbished condition with authentic patina and deliberately preserved and conserved signs of age.
The doors and writing flap are of frame construction. There are cracks in the veneer on the front of the edges of this construction. This is typical “damage” for this type of furniture, which is due to decades of working the wood. The cracks have been closed and the veneers strengthened. These areas are clearly visible in several photos.

Comparable pieces of furniture can be found in the literature:
Annigje Hofstede – Nederlandse Meubelen van Barok tot Biedermeier p. 183