Small writing desk (bonheur-du-jour)
Sèvres Manufactory|Martin Carlin|Jean-Jacques Pierre the Younger
ca. 1774 · Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, and stained sycamore; mahogany; seventeen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original) · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
The 1795 inventory of furniture belonging to Louis XVI's sister-in-law, Marie-Thérèse of Savoy, comtesse d'Artois (1756–1805), gives a description of a similar desk, or bonheur du jour, which may refer to this piece. The drawer has a compartment that originally held an inkwell, a sponge trough, and box for sand. Its hinged writing surface could be lifted up, and writing implements could be stored underneath.
- Artist
- Sèvres Manufactory|Martin Carlin|Jean-Jacques Pierre the Younger
- Date
- ca. 1774
- Medium
- Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, and stained sycamore; mahogany; seventeen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original)
- Culture
- French, Paris and Sèvres
- Department
- European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
- Credit line
- Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958
