Writing table (bureau plat)
by JOUBERT, Gilles, Lacquered oak, gilt-bronze mounts, lined with modern leather, 81 x 176 x 91 cm
Louis XV spent much of his time at Versailles, where daily business was conducted in his Cabinet Int�rieur. This small study, its windows overlooking the palace courtyard below, was one of the most beautiful rooms of his private apartment. On December 29, 1759, Gilles Joubert supplied this writing table, a so-called bureau plat, or flat-topped desk, lacquered in brilliant crimson and with pseudo-Asian landscape scenes in gold for the king’s use in the Cabinet Int�rieur. The surface decoration imitates red and gold Chinese lacquer, which was fashionable in France as veneer for furniture in the middle of the eighteenth century.
The partly pierced gilt-bronze mounts not only emphasize the graceful curving lines of the writing table but also protect and frame the lustrous lacquered surface. The flat top, originally lined with black velvet, allowed the king and his ministers to spread out a multitude of documents and unfold maps.