Lot 1146 Dα

Jean-François Oeben was born in Heinsberg in 1721, but is first mentioned by name in his marriage contract, which was signed in Paris in 1749. This indicates that he must have lived in Paris before that point. He married the sister of Roger Vandercruse (R.V.C.L.), thus becoming a member of one of the most important cabinetmaker families in Paris at the time. Between 1751 and 1754 he was able to rent the mezzanine of the apartment of Charles-Joseph Boulle, one of the sons of André-Charles Boulle, in the Louvre and work there as an independent craftsman. Following Boulle's death in 1754 he was compelled to leave, but was offered living quarters and a workshop in the "Manufacture des Gobelins" and received the title "ébéniste du roi". Working in the Gobelins was associated with a number of privileges and advantages, and Oeben reaped the benefits of these despite the fact that he had no master's title and was not affiliated with any guild. He began working for Madame Pompadour in the early 1750s. In 1756 he and his workshop moved to the Arsenal. His first commission for the Garde-Meuble Royal was a cabinet for the chambers of the Dauphin in Versailles.
He then began to specialise in mechanical furniture with complex mechanisms. One of his first designs of this type was the same as that used for the present work. He received the title “ébéniste mécanicien du roi” in 1760. The highlight of his career was the commission for the cylinder bureau, the “bureau de roi“, for Louis XV. He is thought to be the inventor of this design, as no earlier piece of this type has yet been discovered. Oeben passed away in 1763 before being able to complete the commission. His widow, who later married Jean-Henri Riesener, had to file for bankruptcy, in part due to massive outstanding debts.
When Jean-François Oeben began producing complex mechanical furniture in the 1750s, he began with a mechanical table that could be used as a dressing table and a desk. The lid and the apron are separate. A spring mechanism causes the top to slide backwards whilst the apron slides forwards, usually revealing several compartments and often a hinged surface for writing or reading, or a mirror. He reiterated this basic form in a number of variations. Pieces of this kind are today housed in many of the world's major museums, such as the Musée de Louvre, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and the Residenzmuseum München. His works are usually decorated with fine floral marquetry and mounted in gilt bronze.
This particular table is interesting because it is veneered purely in mahogany. What at first glance appears simple, is in fact highly complex. At the time, mahogany was a new material in cabinetmaking and this was reflected in its price. The first item of furniture to be made entirely in mahogany is recorded in 1752. Madame Pompadour acquired the mahogany used for her furniture personally. Oeben used this material frequently as a veneer for his cabinets, but not often for tables, which makes this piece a rare and unusual example.