Office slope Malouin mahogany 18th century

Biography

Slope offices
I was the first woman who had an office, which was widely criticized at first, and then almost all women had one,” the young Stéphanie du Crest de Saint Aubin, future Countess of Genlis, tells us in her Memoirs. We would therefore like to imagine her learning to write on the small, fashionable piece of furniture from the living rooms and boudoirs of her childhood: the slope desk, feminine furniture par excellence.

The most accomplished manifestation of the Louis XV style, the latter totally belongs to this reign with its curved shape, its refined elegance and its originality. It is in fact much more than a simple piece of writing furniture because it combines the functions of a secretary with the classic desk table.
Its flap reveals a series of compartments and secrets intended to hold precious papers and documents. Subtle balance therefore between the small writing tables very fashionable at the time and the secretaries. Sloping desk from the Louis it fell out of fashion with the arrival of the neoclassical style around 1760, ousted by the roll-top desk revolution. Originally, it was a simple independent desk placed on a table with four solid legs. The first models betray this genesis, they retain the geometric shapes and the clear horizontal separation like the junction of the desk and the table which is still imperfect.
This broken silhouette is generally characteristic of the offices of the generation before 1750. Very quickly, this model evolves Following the graces of time, it curves, undulates under the curved forms, and the belt, until then rectilinear or alternating with straight elements and curves to form a delicate and regular festoon. It frequently creates a median hollow, more rarely a bulge.

The delicately arched legs support the oblique tablet which forms a writing desk, opens and lowers. It is supported by rods then hinges placed under the flap. Small drawers arranged in tiers house in the center a cavity with a sliding tray which gives access to the small “safe” as it was called in the 18th century.
This classic model, a “flying” piece of furniture if ever there was one, often has modest dimensions suitable for small trips from the bedroom to the living room for example.

Alongside this type, numerous variants were developed, certain cabinetmakers such as Dubois, Bernard Van Riesen Burgh (BVRB) or Migeon having made a specialty of the genre. We indeed come across sloping desks with drawers in the belt, strongly reminiscent of hinged chests of drawers or examples with side boxes, also similar to chests of drawers or dressing tables.

Rarer are split leaf models or corner desks. The J. Paul Getty Museum preserves the exceptional double-slope example, stamped BVRB. From a decor point of view, the sloping desk is adorned with traditional Louis XV decoration.

Inlaid in leaves in rosewood, violet or rosewood veneer frames most often, it sometimes forms a delicious floral composition or still life on the oblique shelf. On a quality model, this marquetry does not neglect the front part.

The applications of gilded bronze, more discreet on this type of furniture, highlight the curved lines of the jambs and the keyholes without outrageously overloading the furniture.

The primacy of the curve is total, and we recognize a quality model by the balance and perfection of its lines, as well as the accuracy of its proportions.
search En lire plus

The history of the office
Madame de Genlis, governess of the children of France, writes in her memoirs: I was the first woman who had an office, which was much criticized and then almost all women had one.
The statement does not entirely correspond to reality since the office of Marie de Medici has reached us. And it is difficult to imagine Madame de Lafayette or Madame de Sévigné without a writing table. The fact remains that the desk has long been considered a purely masculine piece of furniture. There was a single copy in each home reserved for the master of the house. The invention of the writing table is however very old, its appearance dates back to the Byzantine Empire. A little later, the presence of the writing table with turned legs is attested in many monasteries of the Middle Ages.
It is there, moreover, that the office will find its name taken from the woolen fabric, homespun, with which the monks cover their table before placing the precious and fragile parchments on it. Homecloth gradually disappears in favor of finer cloth or leather, often dark green, a color reputed to be good for eyesight. Soon, this rug is no longer laid but integrated into the furniture. We are in the 17th century and the office has just been born.
The flat desk itself is distinguished from the writing table by its drawers in the belt. It will experience an extraordinary popularity throughout the 18th century. Over the years, the office came into common use. it will become more complicated, adopting various forms but the flat desk will never lose its rights and will coexist with cylinder or speed bump models.
search En lire plus