Mechanical table

Maker:: Jean-François Oeben (French, born Germany, Heisenberg 1721–1763 Paris)

Maker:: and Roger Vandercruse, called Lacroix (French, 1727–1799)

Date:: ca. 1761–63

Culture:: French

Medium:: Oak veneered with mahogany, kingwood, and tulipwood, with marquetry of mahogany, rosewood, holly, and various other woods; gilt-bronze mounts; imitation Japanese lacquer; replaced silk

Dimensions:: Overall: 27 1/2 × 32 1/4 × 18 3/8 in. (69.9 × 81.9 × 46.7 cm)

Classification:: Woodwork-Furniture

Credit Line:: The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982

Accession Number:: 1982.60.61

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 539

Oeben, born in Heinsberg near Aachen, was known for his naturalistic floral marquetry and for his skills as a mécanicien which are apparent in the elaborate mechanism of this table with its sliding top. He made a number of such sophisticated tables. This particular one, with the unusual pierced openings in the curving legs, was intended for Madame de Pompadour. The main charge of her coat of arms, a tower, appears at the top of the gilt-bronze mount at each corner. The table was left unfinished at the time of Oeben's death in 1761 and completed by his brother-in-law Roger Vandercruse known as Lacroix.

Signature: Stamped under rear rail: JF OEBEN

Stamped under left rail: RVL[C] JME

Inscription: On bow of key: RUSSELL & ERWIN MFG CO. / NEW BRITAIN CONN U.S.A (manufacturer's modern bow welded to original bit)

Possibly Mme de Pompadour ; Marquis of Tullibardine ; Mrs. Mary Gavin Baillie-Hamilton ; Lady Harvey ; [ Lewis and Simmons, Paris ] ; Judge Elbert H. Gary (until 1928; sale, American Art Association, New York, April 21, 1928, lot 271); [ Duveen Brothers , 1928 ] ; Martha Baird Rockefeller (until 1971; sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, October 23, 1971, lot 711; sold for $410,000 to Jack Linsky); Jack and Belle Linsky , New York (1971–82; to MMA)

Essays
French Furniture in the Eighteenth Century: Case Furniture
The Golden Age of French Furniture in the Eighteenth Century

Timelines
France, 1600–1800 A.D.

82nd & Fifth
European Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection
"French Royal Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 63, no. 3 (Winter, 2006)
The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
Notable Acquisitions, 1983–1984
Vanities: Art of the Dressing Table
[adapted from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 71, no. 2 (Fall, 2013)]

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (42,431)

Artist / Maker / Culture

Jean-François Oeben (1)

Roger Vandercruse, called Lacroix (12)

Object Type / Material

Bronze (12,212)

Copper alloy (18,975)

Mechanical tables (4)

Geographic Location

Date / Era

A.D. 1600–1800 (74,491)

Mechanical table

Artist: Jean Henri Riesener (French, Gladebeck, near Hessen 1734–1806 Paris) Date: 1781 Medium: Oak veneered with mahogany and marquetry of bois satiné, sycamore, holly, ebonized holly fillets, and bayberry, the top with an amaranth border; gilt-bronze mounts; mirror glass; iron and brass fittings; green velvet (not original) Accession: 49.7.117 On view in:Gallery 546

Drop-front secretary (secrétaire à abattant or secrétaire en armoire)

Artist: Guillaume Benneman (active 1785, died 1811) Date: 1786–87 Medium: Oak veneered with tulipwood, kingwood, holly partly stained green, ebony, and mahogany; brèche d'Alep marble (not original); modern leather; gilt-bronze mounts Accession: 1971.206.17 On view in:Gallery 527

Combination table

Artist: Martin Carlin (French, near Freiburg im Breisgau ca. 1730–1785 Paris) Date: ca. 1775 Medium: Oak and pine veneered with tulipwood, sycamore, holly, boxwood and ebony; Carrara marble; gilt-bronze mounts; accessories of Sèvres porcelain, rock crystal, silver gilt, and lacquer Accession: 1976.155.99a, b On view in:Gallery 523

Mechanical table (Table mécanique)

Artist: Jean Henri Riesener (French, Gladebeck, near Hessen 1734–1806 Paris) Date: 1778 Medium: Oak veneered with marquetry of bois satiné, holly, amaranth, barberry, stained sycamore, and green-lacquered wood; gilt-bronze mounts; steel, iron and brass fittings; mirror glass; velvet (not original) Accession: 33.12 On view in:Gallery 528

Writing table

Artist: Roger Vandercruse, called Lacroix (French, 1727–1799) Date: ca. 1760–70 Medium: Oak, veneered with rosewood, endcut kingwood, banding of holly, gilt-bronze Accession: 1982.60.62 On view in:Gallery 539