Writing Table (Bureau-Plat)

Born in Germany, Martin Carlin moved to Paris to become an ébéniste—a furniture maker who works with marquetry and wood veneer. He became known for elegant tables, music stands, and cabinets decorated with Sèvres porcelain, sometimes with mechanical parts. This table, large for a piece by Carlin, is decorated with twenty-eight Sèvres plaques, painted with bouquets of flowers. With its tapered hexagonal legs, gilt bronze mounts, and exotic wood veneers, the table demonstrates the symmetry and elegant simplicity valued in the Louis XVI period.