Getty Museum
Writing Table (bureau plat)
Creator
Joseph BaumhauerFrench Artist · 1772–1772
All works by this person →Nothing is known about Joseph Baumhauer's childhood and training in Germany before his arrival in Paris in the 1740s. His marriage to the daughter of a French furniture-maker probably allowed him to establish himself in Paris at a time when established French cabinetmakers vociferously opposed immigrant craftsmen arriving from Germany and other countries. About 1749 Baumhauer was made a *marchand-
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1745–1749
- Medium
- White oak and ash carcass veneered with bloodwood; drawers of white oak; gilt-bronze mounts; brass and iron hardware and lock; leather top
- Culture
- French (Paris)
- Department
- Decorative Arts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
Craftsmen of the 1700s used the highly adaptable material of gilt bronze in numerous ways, as decorative mounts for furniture, clocks, ceramics, and light fittings. On this large desk, the elaborate gilt-bronze mounts form the main decoration. Gilt bronze frames the drawer fronts with rich sprays and floral clusters, while shell-like corner mounts taper down the legs into leafy scrolling feet. Shells and vines even decorate the lock plate. It is possible that this table was a gift sent by Louis XV of France to Empress Elizabeth of Russia in 1745. By the early 1900s it stood in the Chinese Palace at Oranienbaum near Saint Petersburg, Russia.
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