Drop-front secretaire (secrétaire à abattant)

ca. 1760

Not on view

Once the fall front of this secretary, partly decorated with Chinese lacquer, is opened a series of drawers with geometric marquetry is revealed. The overall size indicates that this piece was intended for use in one of the more intimate and private rooms where the owner could write undisturbed. The model of this secretary remained very popular and was repeated a number of times during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Most of the mounts of this piece have been replaced

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Drop-front secretaire (secrétaire à abattant)
Maker: Jean-François Dubut (French, died 1778)
Date: ca. 1760
Culture: French
Medium: Veneered on oak, in front with panels of black and gold lacquer, partly Chinese and partly European, and on the sides with floral marquetry in tulipwood, rosewood, satinwood, purplewood, and various other end-cut woods; mounts of gilded and chased bronze; top of breche d'Aleps marble
Dimensions: confirmed: 47 5/16 × 26 1/4 × 11 1/2 in. (120.2 × 66.7 × 29.2 cm)
Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019
Object Number: 2019.283.3a, b
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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