Drop-front desk (secrétaire à abattant or secrétaire en cabinet)
Medium
Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, holly, and sycamore; six Sèvres soft-paste porcelain plaques and two painted tin plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; marble shelves; moiré silk
Dimensions
43 3/8 x 40 1/2 x 12 7/8 in. (110.1 x 102.9 x 32.7cm)
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 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1976
Accession Number
1976.155.110
Art Historical Context
Step into the opulent world of 18th-century French aristocracy with this exquisite drop-front desk, or *secrétaire à abattant crafted around 1776 by master cabinetmaker Martin Carlin in collaboration with Edme Françoisillat père and the renowned Sèvres Manuf. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts department, this piece exemplifies the Louis XVI neoclassical style, blending refined symmetry with motifs of garlands and flowers that evoke the era's fascination with antiquity and nature. Constructed from oak veneered in luxurious tulipwood, amaranth, ho...