Wonderful large antique French Napoleon III or Victorian era 13 3/8" wide writer's box, ecritoire or lap desk with richly burled veneers, kingwood & brass marquetry style inlay, boulle style cartouche & escutcheon and undeniable decorative appeal! The old Napoleon III era French cabinetry makers seemed in competition to turn out the finest and most opulent boxes of all types (c.1850-70), and I've long long been an avid collector. The finest makers are TAHAN, Vervelle, Paul Sormani, Alphonse Giroux, maybe a couple of others. This is a superb and large tabletop desk, a writer's cabinet or chest with lift rear top stationery compartment and hinged large writer's slope giving access and storage below for writing paper, envelopes, note cards, pens, nibs, stamps, sealing wax and whatever other accoutrement the writer may have needed. A correspondence dream, these large old chests. We've had some incredible ones through the years, some TAHAN. This one bears to maker marking but made to highest standard, the wood veneers are exquisite, the stringing and contrasting ebonized strips and trim, all aspects of finest quality, and this one with what appears to be the original burgundy tooled and gild embossed leather writer's surface. A wonderful decorative piece!
Very good condition. There are a few small sections of the thinnest brass strip inlay that have been reset into the sides of the serpentine shaped top lid, close-up shots visible in the images. As noted, the tooled writing surface appears to be original but one can never tell, possibly a custom made replacement over the years but actually more attracting than the normal velvet covered surfaces. Two inkwell spaces inside but missing the inkwells (measurements noted in the photos if you want to find replacements). The lock and key do work but the slight separation between the front and rear lids makes it so the front can still be opened. See images for all measurements.
