Marie-Antoinette’s table à écrire.
Described in an inventory of 1789 simply as a writing table, this piece offered Marie-Antoinette several more options beyond that. Made by Jean-Henri Riesener in 1781 for the queen’s Grand Cabinet Intérieur at Versailles, the table is fitted with a mechanism that allows the top to slide back while, at the same time, the main drawer moves forward. The central velvet-lined compartment of the drawer is topped by a writing surface that can be ratcheted up to form a lectern or reversed to show a mirror. The marquetry surface of the table's top is richly embellished with a pattern of trelliswork enclosing rosettes, a design feature frequently used by Riesener on his furniture meant for the queen. The central medallion encloses a trophy with the attributes of poetry and literature and the Latin motto Numine afflatur - “inspired by divinity”. The marquetry decoration is now faded, but judging from the better-preserved marquetry on the lids of the inner compartments - which can be released by pressing a small button on the drawer front - and on the outer sides of the drawers, visible when the table is open, the table's surface must have been very colorful. The cabinetmaker achieved this through a clever selection of contrasting woods and the use of organic - and, therefore, not very permanent - dyes to expand the natural palette of the wood. The table is mounted with gilt-bronze moldings around the top, along the lower edge of the frieze, and running down the tapering legs. Gilt-bronze plaques in relief adorn the drawer front and the sides. Four years after it was delivered, this multifunctional table mécanique was sent to the Château de Saint-Cloud, where it was placed in the queen’s dressing-room.
Described in an inventory of 1789 simply as a writing table, this piece offered Marie-Antoinette several more options beyond that. Made by Jean-Henri Riesener in 1781 for the queen’s Grand Cabinet Intérieur at Versailles, the table is fitted with a mechanism that allows the top to slide back while, at the same time, the main drawer moves forward. The central velvet-lined compartment of the drawer is topped by a writing surface that can be ratcheted up to form a lectern or reversed to show a mirror. The marquetry surface of the table's top is richly embellished with a pattern of trelliswork enclosing rosettes, a design feature frequently used by Riesener on his furniture meant for the queen. The central medallion encloses a trophy with the attributes of poetry and literature and the Latin motto Numine afflatur - “inspired by divinity”. The marquetry decoration is now faded, but judging from the better-preserved marquetry on the lids of the inner compartments - which can be released by pressing a small button on the drawer front - and on the outer sides of the drawers, visible when the table is open, the table's surface must have been very colorful. The cabinetmaker achieved this through a clever selection of contrasting woods and the use of organic - and, therefore, not very permanent - dyes to expand the natural palette of the wood. The table is mounted with gilt-bronze moldings around the top, along the lower edge of the frieze, and running down the tapering legs. Gilt-bronze plaques in relief adorn the drawer front and the sides. Four years after it was delivered, this multifunctional table mécanique was sent to the Château de Saint-Cloud, where it was placed in the queen’s dressing-room.
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| The design of the gilt-bronze plaques at the sides of the table gracefully combines the two outermost figural elements of the drawer front plaque. |
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Table mécanique of Marie-Antoinette.
The number 2964 painted underneath the top of this table corresponds to an entry in the Journal du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne and identifies this multipurpose table as one of the first pieces ordered by Marie-Antoinette from her favorite cabinetmaker, Jean-Henri Riesener. The table was delivered to Versailles on December 12, 1778, exactly a week before the long-awaited birth of her first child, Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte. To alleviate Marie-Antoinette’s discomfort during the advanced state of her pregnancy, this table was fitted by Jean-Gotfritt Mercklein, a mécanicien in her service, with a special mechanism. Hidden behind a finely decorated gilt-bronze plaque at either end, this mechanism allowed the queen to use the table in either a seated or a standing position. By means of a detachable crank at one side, the top can be raised or lowered on ratcheted metal shafts that move up or down within the hollow legs. The table could therefore be used for various activities such as eating and writing, but also for reading and dressing, since the central panel of the top can be lifted to form a lectern and reversed to reveal a mirror. Pressing buttons along the front edge of the table releases the hinged lids to six compartments for the storage of small items, perhaps cosmetics and/or writing implements. Over time, the intricate marquetry decoration has lost some of its original coloring. Framed alternately with natural - originally white - holly and black-stained holly, the bois satiné trelliswork encloses rosettes cut of an originally bright yellow barberry wood against a stained, soft yellow sycamore ground.
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| The inner surface of a lid of one of the table's six compartments. |
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Text - much - adapted from that on the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; both tables are in their collection.
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