Fall-front Secretary

This unusual secrétaire underwent several alterations over two centuries. Its shape and gilt bronze mounts are typical of the cabinetmaker Molitor, who worked for Marie-Antoinette. A fall-front writing surface conceals a cabinet containing shelves and drawers for storage. The large Sèvres porcelain plaque on the front was added in the late 19th century by Alfred de Rothschild, who owned both the secrétaire and the porcelain-topped table in which the plaque was originally set. The plaque was painted by Charles-Nicolas Dodin in 1783; it is a copy of François Boucher’s 1734 painting Rinaldo and Armida, now in the Louvre. The two smaller Sèvres plaques mounted on the sides of the cabinet are also by Dodin and date to the 1770s. They were added to the secrétaire sometime between 1884 and 1927, when it entered the Huntington collection.