Decorative arts

Writing Desk

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Type: Decorative arts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1720-1732
Accession number: 11.27
Former: Charles Cressent(Opens in new tab) (French, 1685–1768)
Attributed: Etienne Doirat(Opens in new tab) (French, 1670–1732)
Dimensions: 31 x 70 1/2 x 33 in. (78.7 x 179.1 x 83.8 cm.)
Medium: solid oak, fir, and beech carcase veneered with purplewood; bronze mounts; modern leather top
Description: Writing table in neo-classical style with bronze mounts at escutcheons and on legs.
Credit: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Department: European Art
Find out more: View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)

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In the 18th century, the bureau plat was a highly functional piece, made to facilitate clerical tasks. Its form had developed alongside a growing culture of bureaucracy that took shape as early as the 16th century, when the French crown established a network of offices to administer its domestic policies.

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