A REGENCE ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONY AND EBONIZED BUREAU PLAT

The ASSNAT brand was used during the French Revolution for furniture reserved for 'l'usage de l'Assemblée nationale.' Created on the 17th of June, 1789, the Assemblée seized the contents of the Royal Family and their palaces and then, after the fall of the monarchy, these seizures were enlarged to cover the furniture and household goods of the emigrés and those condemned to prison or death by the Revolutionary authorities. As this piece does not have any Royal inventory numbers, it was probably confiscated from one of the latter two groups. About thirty pieces, primarily seat furniture and desks, have been recorded with this brand.