Getty Museum

Mechanical Reading, Writing, and Toilette Table

Date

about 1760

Medium

White oak veneered with bloodwood, kingwood, amaranth, padauk, barberry, holly, boxwood, sycamore, tulipwood, hornbeam, ebony, cedar; drawer of juniper; gilt-bronze mounts; brass and iron mechanism and lock; silk

Culture

French

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

With the turn of a key in the small hole in the table's side, the top mechanically slides back and the drawer below opens, revealing lidded compartments and a book rest. The mechanism is activated by interior springs, which are tightened by winding another key. Jean-François Oeben, the cabinetmaker who produced this table, was a particularly talented maker of mechanical furniture and was given the special privilege to forge his own metal fittings. He specialized in elaborate, multi-purpose pieces of furniture decorated with floral marquetry of stained woods. On this table a naturalistic bouquet of tulips, roses, and other flowers spreads across the top surface, loosely tied with a ribbon. Originally the marquetry was vibrantly dyed, but the colors have faded and only the green shades remain.

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