Object History
In the 18th and 19th century France the preferred form of desk was a writing-table, known as a bureau plat. A “bureau à caissons” (a desk with cabinets or a pedestal desk) is therefore a rare type in French antique furniture. Today however, the drawers to the pedestals make it a very useful type to work from, and desirable for the contemporary needs of a modern office.
The curvaceous outshape and rococo gilt-bronze mounts give the design a rococo flourish, alluding to the Louis XV style. The gilt-bronzes are marked ‘BY’ for the Beurdeley dynasty of cabinetmakers. Stylistically, and from the construction, it can be attributed to Beurdeley’s production under the auspices of Alfred I, rather than his son, Alfred II, who favoured the later neoclassical Louis XVI style.
Maison Beurdeley
The Beurdeley family were among the foremost Parisian cabinetmakers of the nineteenth century, producing exceptional furniture and decorative objects between 1818 and 1895. Founded by Jean Beurdeley and expanded by his son Alfred I and grandson Alfred II, the firm became renowned for its superb craftsmanship, particularly its finely chased gilt-bronze mounts and immaculate mercury gilding, often inspired by celebrated eighteenth-century masterpieces. Their work was of such remarkable quality that it is frequently mistaken for original Ancien Régime furniture.
Under Alfred II, Beurdeley achieved international acclaim, winning a Gold Medal at the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris before exhibiting in Amsterdam and at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The firm received prestigious commissions from Europe’s aristocracy and America’s Gilded Age elite, including Cornelius Vanderbilt II for both his New York mansion and The Breakers in Newport. While celebrated for faithful reinterpretations of masterpieces by makers such as Riesener and Weisweiler, Beurdeley also created original designs inspired by the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles, demonstrating exceptional artistic imagination alongside technical mastery.
Following the closure of the workshops in 1895, the firm’s remaining stock was dispersed through a series of landmark sales at Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. Today, Beurdeley is recognised as one of the pre-eminent makers of nineteenth-century meubles de luxe, with pieces held in leading museums and distinguished private collections worldwide. Continued scholarly research and growing appreciation for the firm’s extraordinary quality have firmly established Beurdeley among the greatest cabinetmakers of the nineteenth century.
