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Double Desk

Bernard II van Risenburghabout 1750

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States

The double form of this unusually large desk is unique. When lowered, both sides form writing surfaces and reveal drawers and pigeonholes veneered with marquetry. The finely cast and chased gilt-bronze mounts delineate the edges of the drawers, front, and legs. On the fall fronts of the desk, bunches of marquetry flowers seem to sprout from the sculptural mounts.

The desk was probably made for the fermier général (a type of tax collector) François-Balthazar Dangé; a similar desk is described in an inventory taken at his death in 1777. The desk is also found in the 1795 inventory of his son Louis, who was guillotined during the French Revolution.

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  • Title: Double Desk
  • Creator: Bernard II van Risenburgh
  • Date: about 1750
  • Location Created: Paris, France
  • Physical Dimensions: 107.8 x 158.7 x 84.7 cm (42 7/16 x 62 1/2 x 33 3/8 in.)
  • External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
  • Medium: Oak veneered with tulipwood, kingwood and bloodwood; drawers of mahogany; gilt-bronze mounts
  • Object Type: Furniture
  • Number: 70.DA.87
  • Markings: Markings: Stamped "B.V.R.B." underneath and on interior of carcass. Other Markings: Stamped "JME" twice underneath and on interior of carcass. Underside of carcass bears several red wax seals of the Duke of Argyll.
  • Culture: French (Paris)
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Paul Getty
  • Classification: Decorative Arts
The J. Paul Getty Museum

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