Small writing table

Antoine-Mathieu Criaerd French

Not on view

Small convenient tables provided with a writing slide and a drawer for writing implements were found in nearly every room of the mid eighteenth-century home. This elegant piece by Criaerd is entirely framed by gilt-bronze moldings and has kept its gilt-bronze receptacles for ink and sand needed for letter writing. Books or papers could be placed on the shelf underneath as can be seen on a related table in the well-known portrait of Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher of 1756 (Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung, Munich).

Small writing table, Antoine-Mathieu Criaerd (French, 1724–1787), Oak veneered with tulipwood and amaranth, gilt bronze, leather, French, Paris

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