Writing Table (bureau plat)

Dominique Daguerre, an important marchand-mercier (art dealer) in late 1700s Paris, designed and sold furniture with a new style of decoration: using porcelain plaques to adorn the wood. He ordered the porcelain plaques that decorate this table from the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, according to his specifications. He then gave the plaques to the ébéniste (furniture-maker) Martin Carlin, instructing him to make the table and mount the plaques onto it. Daguerre’s shop label remains on the table’s underside, a rare survival today.

In May 1782, Daguerre sold this table to Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna and Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia during a trip they made through Europe. The Duchess installed the table in her bedroom at the Palace of Pavlovsk, near Saint Petersburg. Period sources say she loved French furniture and style, purchasing many pieces from France to decorate the Palace.