Details
The Sarrancolin marble top with a pierced three-quarter gallery, above a tambour with a central mount depicting Minerva, flanked by a panel to each side, one emblematic of Geography, the other of Astronomy, enclosing a green-leather lined pull-out slide, five pigeon-holes and four short drawers with diamond parquetry, the back inlaid with military and naval trophies flanking a central applique, the sides similarly decorated above a leather-lined slide, the front centred by a knee-hole with a frieze drawer and three short drawers with floral marquetry, on cabriole legs headed by foliate-cast clasps with pierced sabots

4612 in. (118 cm.) high; 5612 in. (143.5 cm.) wide; 2612 in. (67.5 cm.) deep
Special notice
Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.
Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Royal (details below) or will be removed from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot has been transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.
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Lot Essay

This desk is inspired by the bureau de roi, begun by Jean-François Oeben and completed by Jean-Henri Riesener for Louis XV in 1769 (now at Versailles) featuring similar marquetry panels, as well as a bureau à cylindre, also by Riesener, formerly thought to have been made for King Stanislas of Poland, but now identified as being supplied to the comte d'Orsay (now in the Wallace Collection). The present lot is however most similar in form to a secrétaire à cylindre, again by Riesener, made for the apartments of the Comtesse de Provence in 1773, (illustrated, M. Coutinho, 18th Century French Furniture, Lisbon, 1999, p. 215). Another apparantly identical example sold Christie's, London, 22 September 2011, lot 39 (£11,250).

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