Drop-front secretary (secrétaire à abattant)

attributed to Adam Weisweiler, c. 1790 - c. 1795

This secretary –a writing desk with a lockable front panel –is decorated with 17th-century Japanese lacquerwork taken from old chests or cabinets. Parisian dealers in luxury goods, such as Dominique Daguerre, bought the costly lacquerwork and had new pieces of furniture made in which it was incorporated.

  • Artwork typefurniture, desk, secretary
  • Object numberBK-16653
  • Dimensionsheight 131.5 cm x width 87.5 cm x depth 42 cm, width 81.5 cm x depth 35.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicseikenhout, gefineerd met ebbenhout, esdoornhout, purperharthout en palmhout, Japans lakwerk, monturen van verguld brons, het bovenblad van Spaans brocatella viola marmer

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Drop-front secretary (secrétaire à abattant)

  • Object type

  • Object number

    BK-16653

  • Description

    Secretaire versierd met Japans lakwerk, ebbenhout op eikenhouten kern en verguld brons. Het meubel rust op een open onderstel met geslingerd raam. De regel met lade aan de voorkant, alsmede de voor- en zijkanten van het bovenstel, zijn versierd met panelen van lakwerk met voorstellingen in goud op zwart fond binnen verguld bronzen randen. De hoekstijlen van het bovenstel bestaan uit vrouwelijke hermcaryatiden van verguld brons. Het meubel, met marmeren dekplaat, draagt vele randen en beslag van verguld brons.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • inscription: ‘haut’
    • inscription: ‘FAIT A SOLINGEN’

Creation

  • Creation

    furniture maker (person): attributed to Adam Weisweiler, Paris

  • Dating

    c. 1790 - c. 1795

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    eikenhout, gefineerd met ebbenhout, esdoornhout, purperharthout en palmhout, Japans lakwerk, monturen van verguld brons, het bovenblad van Spaans brocatella viola marmer

  • Dimensions

    • height 131.5 cm x width 87.5 cm x depth 42 cm
    • width 81.5 cm x depth 35.5 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; collection Hannah Mathilde Freifrau von Rothschild (1832-1924), Grüneburg, Frankfurt am Main, 1931;{Feulner 1931a, p. 491; Von Falke 1936, p. 342, no. Mo.66.} …; collection Baroness von Schey née von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1883-1925), Frankfurt am Main;{Note RMA; Baarsen 2013, pp. 446-451 , no. 110.}…; collection Dr Fritz Mannheimer (1890-1939), Amsterdam and Paris, 1936;{Von Falke 1936, p. 342, no. Mo.66.} purchased from his estate, en bloc, by the Dienststelle Mühlmann, The Hague, for Adolf Hitler's Führermuseum, Linz, 1940;{Korthals Altes 1974, pp. 21-22.} war recuperation, SNK, 1945;{HNA, SNK Archive, 2.08.42, inv. no. 548.} on loan, with 1,702 other objects, from the DRVK to the museum, 1952;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1960

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

  • Adolf Feulner, 'Französische Möbel in Deutschland', Pantheon 8 (1931), p. 490-492, afb.

Persistent URL

Questions?

Do you spot a mistake? Or do you have information about the object? Let us know!