A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED, BRASS AND TORTOISESHELL-INLAID 'BOULLE' MARQUETRY AND EBONY BUREAU PLAT

A tour de force of 19th century French cabinetry, the present desk is a near exact replica of that created by André-Charles Boulle and his sons in 1720 and sold in 1896 from the collections of Mademoiselle de Choiseul (J. Nérée Ronfort, André Charles Boulle 1642-1732 A New Style for Europe, exhibition catalogue, 30 October 2009 – 31 January 2010, Frankfurt, 2009, p. 238-239, cat. 21). The de Choiseul bureau plat is, in turn, closely related to another with sumptuous première-partie marquetry created by Boulle and his sons for Louis-Henri, duc de Bourton, 7th prince de Condé in 1720, and today in the collections of the Château de Versailles (inv. V1515, J. Nérée Ronfort, op. cit., pp. 236-7 cat. 20). Originally paired with a cartonnier for arranging papers, the Choiseul bureau plat, like so many of the celebrated works Boulle created for the revered patrons of the Ancien Régime, was faithfully replicated in the 19th century for an international clientele who wished to furnish their grand residences in the manner of the previous century.