SECRETAIRE "A ABATTANT"

SECRETAIRE "A ABATTANT",

Louis XVI, signed M.B. EVALD (Maurice Bernard Ewald, known as Evald, maître 1765), Guild stamp, Paris ca. 1770.

Tulipwood, rosewood and precious woods in veneer, in part tinted, and exquisitely inlaid with bouquets of flowers in vases, leaves, baluster and meander band as well as decorative frieze. Hinged writing surface, lined with green, gold-impressed leather, with a drawer on top and double-doors below. Fitted interior with large central compartment and 3 drawers on each side, below 3 large compartments arranged in 2 rows. Gilt bronze mounts. Shaped "Brèche d'Alep" marble top. Brand stamp CTB. 1 drawer features old owner's label. Restorations and supplements.

84x38x(open 72)x134 cm.

Provenance:
- from a private collection, Suisse romande.

A secretaire with a similar basic structure and almost identical marquetry was sold at Christie's, New York, on 21 October 2005 (Lot No. 380).

Ref.: P. Kjellberg, Le mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris 1989; pp. 299ff. (biogr. information). J. Nicolay, L'art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris 1976; I, pp. 114f. (biogr. information).