- 193
A Magnificent Louis XV style gilt-bronze mounted kingwood and tulipwood Bureau à Cylindre Paris, circa 1880-85
Description
- height 5 ft.; width 5 ft. 8 1/2 in.; depth 35 in.
- 152.5 cm; 174 cm; 89 cm
Provenance
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
The design of the present magnificient bureau à cylindre, adorned by the figure of Apollo and Caliope as figural candelabras, was arguably inspired by Oeben and Riesener's cylinder desk, universally referred to as the Bureau du Roi, one of the most famous pieces of 18th century French furniture. The construction of this extraordinary piece was started in 1760 by Jean-François Oeben, finally delivered to the King in May 1769 after its completion by Oeben's successor, Jean-Henri Riesener. The desk, which took numerous craftsman and "nine years of painstaking work to bring it to perfection," dominated Riesener's work during this period. The magnificent Bureau du Roi was originally in Louis XV's study at Versailles. Seemingly too much a reminder of the ancien régime, it was relegated to the office of Napoleon's assistant in the Tuileries in an inventory of 1807. It was moved to the grand salon at the Palais des Tuileries for a short time until transferred to Saint-Cloud by Empress Eugénie in 1855. In August 1870 it was at the Musée du Louvre before being finally returned to Versailles in 1957.
A bureau à cylindre of related design but with a double-face timepiece centering the gallery, from the New Orleans collection of Joseph M. Meraux, sold Sotheby's New York, September 17, 1993, lot 197, for $195,000. Another similar desk sold Christie's London, September 27, 2007, lot 100, for £204,000.