On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Fall-Front Secretary on Stand

Adam Weisweiler French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 899

With its harmony of Japanese-lacquer panels and gilt-bronze mounts, this elegant secretary would have been seen by few visitors; it stood in one of the king’s private rooms, his Cabinet Intérieur. The panels with shaped pictorial cartouches decorating the front are about 150 years older than the secretary itself. The maker cut them from the surface of a close stool (chamber pot) dating to about 1640, the reuse a testament to the continued appreciation of Japanese lacquer in Europe.

Fall-Front Secretary on Stand, Adam Weisweiler (French, 1744–1820), Oak, exterior veneered with ebony and Japanese lacquer, mother of pearl; gilt bronze; interior: sycamore and other marquetry woods, leather, French

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

© The Al Thani Collection, 2017. All rights reserved. Photograph taken by Benoit Guillaume

Fall-Front Secretary on Stand, Adam Weisweiler (French, 1744–1820), Oak, exterior veneered with ebony and Japanese lacquer, mother of pearl; gilt bronze; interior: sycamore and other marquetry woods, leather, French
Fall-Front Secretary on Stand, Adam Weisweiler (French, 1744–1820), Oak, exterior veneered with ebony and Japanese lacquer, mother of pearl; gilt bronze; interior: sycamore and other marquetry woods, leather, French

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.