Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
LOUIS XV STYLE
The style of 18th-century French furniture was guided by the court. When Louis XV, who reigned from 1715–74, focused royal life on the smaller salons of Versailles rather than its grand chambers, it transformed the aesthetics away from the imposing and angular furniture that characterized the style of Louis XIV. A broader focus on comfort and more delicate forms define antique Louis XV furniture, with nature-inspired carvings, wood inlays, curved cabriole legs, asymmetrical shapes and rounded oval seat backs. The furnishings changed throughout the king’s life, as he ascended to the throne as a child and then grew to establish his own tastes.
Pieces like the bergère, an upholstered armchair with a wide cushion that fit the flowing dresses in fashion at the time, reflected this more informal court. Introduced at the start of Louis XV’s reign, bergère chairs in this style were deeper and broader than other chairs of the period.
Louis XV tapestries and carpets tended to be floral and colorful, and design elements were borrowed from Asia. Dutch-born cabinetmaker Bernard van Risenburgh brought lacquer techniques influenced by Japan and China into his luxuriously made furniture. Along with its fine details, the furniture of the era also featured new innovations including mechanical devices. Jean François Oeben, a royal cabinetmaker, created such intricate pieces as a mechanical table for Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress. It involved a sliding top and a writing surface that extended from its marquetry panels.
During the later years of Louis XV’s reign, there was a shift from the ostentatious rocaille style, part of the exuberantly decorative Rococo movement in Europe for which designers such as Nicolas Pineau and Juste-Aurèle Meissonier are known. The style under Louis XVI would return to boxier forms, but with a neoclassical touch inspired by the ancient world.
Find antique Louis XV bedroom furniture, seating, tables and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
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Style: Louis XV
French Louis XV Style Verne Martin Painted Desk
Located in New York, NY
French Louis XV style (19th Century) Verne Martin painted desk with bronze trim.
Category
19th Century Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
French Louis XV Style Ladies Writing Desk
Located in Pembroke, MA
An elegant French Louis XV style petit writing desk with gilt-bronze mounts, including escutcheon, knees sabots and chutes. One central locking drawer and a nicely embossed brown le...
Category
Early 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Louis XV Style Tall Standing Desk / Table by Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdley
Located in Dallas, TX
a Louis XV style Second Empire (Napoleon III) small writing desk / table (lectern, stand, or podium) of fruitwood and kingwood, with an embossed gilt green leather slant-front writin...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze, Ormolu
French Rococo Louis XV Distress Paint Dressing Table Vanity Ladies Writing Desk
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique French Louis XV / Rococo style hand-carved and distressed dressing table / ladies writing desk. Item features a shaped turtle top with diamond sunburst veneer, single hand do...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
French Louis XV Style Kingwood Desk with Sèvres Plaques
Located in New York, NY
French Louis XV style (19th Century) kingwood lady's desk with Sevres porcelain panels and bronze trimmed gallery.
Category
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
20th Century Louis XV Style Ladies Bureau Plat or Desk
Located in Berlin, DE
Elegant ladies bureau plat desk in the Louis XV style, rosewood and shaded precious wood, veneered. Extremely fine, floral, bronze fittings. Four-sided, ...
Category
20th Century Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Petite French Louis XV Style Walnut Slant-Front Desk, Stamped, circa 1810
Located in Atlanta, GA
A stamped French Louis XV style small walnut slant-front desk with sliding inlaid panels, long drawer and inner compartments from the early 19th century. This petite French desk...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
18th Century French Louis XV Transition Marquetry Gilt Bronze Desk Bureau Plat
Located in Berlin, DE
18th Century French Louis XV Transition Marquetry Gilt Bronze Desk Bureau Plat
An 18th century gilt-bronze mounted double-face desk or bureau plat with herring-bone marquetry. The k...
Category
18th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
French 19th Century Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted and Leather Cartonnier
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine and palatial French 19th century Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted, leather, tulipwood and kingwood parquetry cartonnier with clock. The circular clock with elaborate pi...
Category
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Large Louis XV Style 19th Century Bureau Plat
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality 19th century French kingwood parquetry inlaid Louis XV style freestanding bureau plate. Having an inset leather top, five oak lined drawers to one side, dummy dra...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
French Louis XV Style Walnut Table Desk
Located in New York, NY
French Louis XV style (19/20th Century) walnut table desk with gilt trim and stretcher.
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
18th Century Louis XV Marquetry Ladies' Desk Manner of J.C. Ellaume
Located in Berlin, DE
18th Century Louis XV Marquetry Ladies' Desk Manner of J.C. Ellaume
A mid-18th century ladies' desk or so-called "bureau de pente", its shaped fall-front opening to reveal a red lea...
Category
1750s French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
19th Century, Louis XV Revival Ormolu-Mounted Bonheur Du Jour by Diehl
Located in London, by appointment only
Highly important and palatial Napoleon III Louis XV Revival Ormolu-Mounted Marquetry Bonheur Du Jour by Charles Guillaume Diehl, Designed by Jean Brandely, The Marquetry by E. Varlot, Paris. The rarity & importance of this magnificent piece cannot be overstated, it is without question one of the finest examples you will see. Originally commissioned for European nobility as a statement of love and marital grandeur. Incorporating the finest & rarest veneers and timbers of the time, including Harewood, Thuya, Purpleheart, palm wood and tulipwood.
The beautifully shaped ormolu gallery on the top, gracefully curving outwards inset with fretted heart shapes highlight the incredible attention to detail that flow throughout this majestic piece. The upper section set either side with ormolu mounted fluted pilasters, aside two doors both individually set with masculine & feminine central marquetry panels of the most supreme quality, as you would expect from the master E. Varlot. The colors incorporated in the inlay are outstanding to behold, simply perfection. Opening to reveal the double top & bottom lock, engraved with Diehl's mark and address. Internally veneered in Rosewood of the richest color with one shelf. With two drawers below the doors, both veneered on the inside with Sycamore, one fitted for inkwells. The ormolu edged writing flap again centrally set with both a male & female figure now seated, holding hands with the lady holding a Mandoline, a true sign of happiness & love. The writing flap opening to reveal the original richly tooled velvet leather surface. The stand with one central frieze drawer, again lined inside with rosewood and with a top and bottom lock. On ormolu-mounted fluted legs.
This grand Museum Quality masterpiece is in excellent condition for its age.
Charles Guillaume Diehl (1811-1885) was of Germanic origins, he is considered among the most important & influential of cabinetmakers of the 19th century. He was born in Steinbach, Germany later moving to France, establishing his atelier in Paris in 1840, at the 3, Rue de Thorigny and then at the 170, Rue Saint...
Category
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
20th Century Bureau Plat or Writting Table by the Model of Andre Charles Boulle
Located in Berlin, DE
This model was built by Charles Boulle, the most important and historian of Louis XV.
Piano white Polished veneer on solid beech and oak. Extremely finely...
Category
20th Century Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Large Regence Style Ormolu Mounted Bureau Plat
Located in London, GB
Of classical rectangular form, the four cabriole legs capped by ormolu female masks, with a further two masks to the sides, with three drawers and a leather writing surface
Category
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
19th Century Bureau Plat with Floral and Blue Porcelain Plaques
Located in London, GB
A very fine bureau plat in the manner of Edward Holmes Baldock.
After a model by C.C. Saunier.
English made, in the Louis XVth taste, constructed in kingwood, with purpleheart crossbanding and adorned with bleu celeste porcelain plaques with hand-painted floral decoration and extensive fire gilt bronze mounts; rising from cabriole legs with brass sabots and bronze enrichments, in the apron, the one large central drawer is flanked by two smaller drawers with twenty four ‘Sevres’ porcelain plaques enclosed in symmetrical gilt bronze boss studded frames, chased and with a sand form ground. The serpentine top framed with a conforming bronze guard...
Category
19th Century English Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass, Bronze
French Louis XV Style Kingwood Veneer Desk with Tooled Leather Top
Located in New York, NY
French Louis XV style (19th Century) kingwood veneer desk with 5 drawers and gold tooled leather top with bronze sabot feet and escutcheons.
Category
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze, Gold Leaf
French Louis XV Style Parquetry Table Desk
Located in New York, NY
French Louis XV style (20th Century) desk with a parquetry inlaid top and gilt bronze trim with a single drawer.
Category
20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
French Louis XV Style Black Lacquered Desk with Red Tooled Leather Top
Located in Dallas, TX
French Louis XV style black lacquered desk with a red tooled leather top and bronze hardware.
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
French 19th Century Floral Marquetry and Gilt Bronze Table
Located in London, GB
A ladies writing table in the Louis XV transitional manner.
Of freestanding form, constructed in kingwood, with good marquetry inlays, and having gilt bronze mounts; rising from swept cabriole legs with foliate form bronze sabots, and foliate espagnolettes over; the apron houses a lockable central drawer, with gilt bronze handles and a keyhole escutcheon; the shaped serpentine platform having a centrally situated floral bouquet, within a trellis delineated ground, the whole having a gilt bronze guard...
Category
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
French Louis XV Style Kingwood Veneer End Table
Located in New York, NY
French Louis XV-style (19th Century) kingwood veneer end table with 2 drawer (top drawer for writing) with an inlaid top and gilt bronze trim.
Category
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
French Louis XV Style Kingwood Table Desk with Parquetry Inlay
Located in New York, NY
French Louis XV style (19th Century) kingwood table desk with parquetry inlay and floral marquetry border and a single drawer with gilt bronze trim (signed: LINKE)
Category
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
Louis XV Style Desk a Rognon
Located in Montreal, QC
A very fine kingwood kidney- shaped desk (bureau a rognon) with original tooled leather surface, crisply mounted in gilt bronze and on cabriole legs .
signed in the gilt bronze surround T.W. Muller.
T W Muller was a Viennese cabinet...
Category
19th Century Austrian Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
Small Louis XV Side Table - France, 18th Century
Located in Isle Sur La Sorgue, Vaucluse
Charming carved table on cabriole legs, with central drawer.
Category
18th Century and Earlier French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Oak
Antique French Walnut Bureau Plat Desk
Located in London, GB
A stunning antique French walnut bureau plat desk, dating from around the 1900-1910 period.
It is of outstanding quality, this has fantastic gilt metal ormolu mounts all over, inclu...
Category
Early 1900s French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Ormolu
20th Century France Louis XV Kingwood Inlaid Marquetry Desk and Writing Table
By Charles Topino
Located in Roma, RM
Purple ebony centre desk - France, 20th century, in the manner of CHARLES TOPINO, XIX century
Purple ebony inlaid with fruit wood with veneered top and table representing still life ...
Category
Early 20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Fruitwood, Kingwood
Louis XV Style Desk
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
Louis XV Style Tea / Centre Table From Paris. A combination of exotic woods including rosewood, tulip wood and more with delicate little bronze mounts were used in the creation of th...
Category
Early 1900s French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
French Leather Top Writing Table
Located in New York, NY
A striking 19th-century walnut French writing table with one drawer and a black leather top. The table has developed a rich, warm patina and its size make it perfect as a small desk...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Leather, Walnut
Louis XV Leather Top Desk
Located in Westwood, NJ
A French Louis XV style fine deep rosewood bureau plat writing desk, the leather inset brass moulded edge top above three shaped frieze drawers wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
20th Century Exclusive Bureau Plat/ writing Desk in Louis XV
Located in Berlin, DE
20th century exclusive bureau plat/ writing desk in Louis XV style
Solid beechwood ebonized/blackened. Very fine, floral bronze fittings. Frame base with four-sided curvature. 3 d...
Category
20th Century French Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
French 1850 Writing table with Curvy Top, Single Drawer and Cabriole Legs
Located in Atlanta, GA
This French Louis XV style mid-19th century wooden desk / writing table features a beautifully curvy three-plank top over a simple apron with a single drawer. The table is raised on ...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
Louis Xv desks and writing tables for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Louis XV desks and writing tables for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage desks and writing tables created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include tables, case pieces and storage cabinets and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Louis XV desks and writing tables made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and North America pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original desks and writing tables, popular names associated with this style include François Linke, Baker Furniture Company, Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley, and L. Cueunieres Ebeniste.. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for desks and writing tables differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $486 and tops out at $1,000,000 while the average work can sell for $6,433.
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