Drop-front desk (secrétaire à abattant or secrétaire en cabinet)
porcelain ca. 1764, secretary ca. 1775
Medium
Oak veneered with satin-wood, green and black-stained wood; gilt bronze, marble, soft-paste porcelain, silk
Dimensions
Overall: 50 1/2 × 33 5/8 × 14 in. (128.3 × 85.4 × 35.6 cm)
Classification
Woodwork-Furniture
Culture
French, Paris and Sèvres
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958
Accession Number
58.75.52
About the Artist
Sèvres Manufactory|Roger Vandercruse, called Lacroix · 1740–present
The Sèvres Manufactory, one of Europe's premier porcelain producers, was established in 1740 as the Manufacture de Vincennes under the patronage of Queen Marie Leszczyńska, who sought to rival Meissen and Chantilly porcelains with French soft-paste innovations. Initially a private venture, it relocated to Sèvres in 1756 in a purpose-built facility designed by architect Laurent Lindet near Madame d...