Getty Museum

Writing Table

Date

about 1755

Medium

White oak and fir veneered with amaranth, kingwood, and tulipwood; drawers of mahogany and white oak; gilt-bronze mounts; brass and iron locks; replacement leather writing surface

Culture

French

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

This table addressed all the writing needs of a wealthy French citizen in the mid 1700s. It has a writing slide, lined with green leather, that pulls out from the front and two smaller flat surfaces that slide out, one from each side, for holding candlesticks. It also contains two locking drawers opening from the sides of the table, one of which is compartmentalized for storing writing implements. Stylized representations of flowers, leaves, stems, and tendrils decorate the tabletop, the slide-out writing surface, and the sides of the table. The technique used to make these images, called marquetry, involved cutting thin pieces of different woods into various shapes and applying them to the surfaces of a piece of furniture in order to create a decorative veneer. This process was labor intensive and required great skill. The woods used for marquetry designs made in France during the 1700s were usually from trees not native to Europe, so they had to be shipped long distances. For example, the kingwood used to create the floral designs on this table would have been imported from South America. This expense, along with that for the gilt-bronze mounts decorating the edges of the table, made furniture like this unattainable except for the wealthy.

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