This compact desk was made for Louis XIV by the relatively unknown Dutch cabinetmaker Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt (1639-1715). It was one of a pair made for the king's study, a small room in the north wing of Versailles.
The closed top displays a blazon of Louis XIV's personal devices, including a crown above a monogram of interlaced L's. The crown is surmounted by a sunburst engraved with a now-indistinct outline of Apollo's mask. The sides of the top are inlaid with Apollo's lyres and the corners, with fleurs-de-lis.
The Museum's desk belongs to a type of furniture called 'bureaux brisés' (literally, 'broken desks'). The top, shown closed, is hinged to open, or 'break,' along its width to reveal a fitted interior, veneered with Brazilian rosewood, that consists of a cramped writing surface with four drawers at the back. The 'bureau brisé' originated in 1669 and continued to be made until the early eighteenth century, when a large flat-topped writing table, the 'bureau plat,' replaced it.
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<P>This compact desk was made for Louis XIV by the relatively unknown Dutch cabinetmaker Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt (1639-1715). It was one of a pair made for the king's study, a small room in the north wing of Versailles. </P> <P>The closed top displays a blazon of Louis XIV's personal devices, including a crown above a monogram of interlaced L's. The crown is surmounted by a sunburst engraved with a now-indistinct outline of Apollo's mask. The sides of the top are inlaid with Apollo's lyres and the corners, with fleurs-de-lis.</P> <P>The Museum's desk belongs to a type of furniture called 'bureaux brisés' (literally, 'broken desks'). The top, shown closed, is hinged to open, or 'break,' along its width to reveal a fitted interior, veneered with Brazilian rosewood, that consists of a cramped writing surface with four drawers at the back. The 'bureau brisé' originated in 1669 and continued to be made until the early eighteenth century, when a large flat-topped writing table, the 'bureau plat,' replaced it.</P>
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