An Empire mahogany bureau a caissons, attributed to Jacob Desmalter

Made of mahogany, mahogany veneer, and green patinated wood, with a gilded leather-wrapped top with small ironwork, the apron opening with two drawers and two sliding side shelves, the uprights decorated with lions leaning against a fan on either side revealing an interior compartment, the front opening with three drawers and three compartments, resting on a plinth.

Provenance: Galerie Jacques Perrin, Paris.

This pedestal desk is characteristic of the architectural forms, influenced by Antiquity, which were adopted under the Consulate and continued into the Empire era.

Jacob Desmalter is one of the most representative cabinetmakers of this period, often drawing inspiration in his work from the designs of architects Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine.

In this regard, two drawings representing, respectively, a chest of drawers and a pedestal desk, both with uprights in the shape of lion monopods, recall the general structure of our piece.

It should also be mentioned that a comparable pedestal desk, from the Ledoux-Lebard collection, was sold at Artcurial Paris on June 20, 2006, lot 166.