Flat desk in amaranth veneer, François Lieutaud circa 1730

Amaranth veneered writing desk, François Lieutaud, circa 1730

Rare writing desk in amaranth veneer and finely chiseled and mercury-gilded bronze.
It opens with three drawers on the front; two oblong drawers on the sides and a large trapezoidal recessed drawer in the center.
Each drawer has a bronze border frame; the side drawers have drop handles with laurel tori and rosettes and small keyholes with floral decoration.
The opposite side features an identical decoration that simulates three drawers.
The four delicately arched legs are adorned with bronze slippers decorated with acanthus flowers ending in small balls at the bottom and feature large female masks at the top.
These masks, positioned in spandrels, follow the curve of the leg; They are topped with palmettes and finished with a crisscrossing, openwork acanthus drop.
The crosspieces are fretted; they form "C" shapes adorned with bronze friezes of diminishing gadroons that follow the contours of the drawers and serve as a separation from the central drawer.
The middle section of the sides features a bordered frame similar to that of the drawers.
The top is covered with red leather in three parts gilded with small irons; it is framed by a large bronze ingot mold with a double corbin beak.

The interior of the drawers is oak, the frame is made of softwood fir.

Beautiful original bronze ornamentation.

Attributed to François Lieutaud, probably a subcontractor for the merchant haberdashery Noël Gérard, Paris, early in the reign of Louis XV, circa 1730-1740.

Dimensions:

Height: 76 cm; Width: 147 cm; Depth: 77 cm

Condition:

The condition of our desk is excellent; the frame, veneer, backs, and drawer interiors are original.
The bronze fittings and three locks are also original.
Aside from some minor restorations to the veneer, the desk is in its complete original condition.

Similar desk:

Christies London sale, May 21, 2021, lot 8 (£17,500)

François Lieutaud (1665-1748), was a cabinetmaker from Marseille who became a master in Paris at the end of the 17th century. He was the father of Charles Lieutaud, himself a cabinetmaker, and the grandfather of Balthazar Lieutaud, also a cabinetmaker, who would become best known for his manufacture of clock cases. Based in Paris, on rue Traversière and then rue Saint Nicolas, he created, with the famous André Charles Boulle, some of the most beautiful furniture in Versailles. The documents of a trial at the time indicate that, as an exceptional measure, King Louis XIV had granted him the rare privilege of being able to create and manufacture the bronzes for his furniture, because at that time, only the bronze makers' guild had this exclusive right. Part of its production is in marquetry called "Boulle" with inlays of metal threads (brass, tin) on backgrounds of ebony, tortoiseshell or amaranth, another is in monochrome veneer of exotic wood. His furniture is adorned with rich and original bronze ornamentation where the Boullesque imagination takes over. The fauns, women's masks, goddesses and Bacchus that he sculpts and casts himself adorn his production which consists of chests of drawers, desks, tables and cartels. Part of it is marketed by the merchant haberdashery Nöel Gérard who operates under the name "au cabinet d'Allemagne" before taking over the "magasin général" which will be the epicentre of luxury in Paris. Lieutaud will work almost until the end of his life since he delivers to the furniture repository a chest of drawers for the use of the Marquise de Pompadour at the Château de Bellevue in the years 1740-1750.