The Bedside Table of Napoléon's Secretary

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

A beautiful mahogany table from the French Empire by Jacob-Desmalter is for sale by SGL-Enchères in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on March 15.

François-Honoré Jacob, who took the name Jacob-Desmalter after 1803, was one of the leading suppliers of furniture for the court of Napoleon I. He was the younger son of Georges Jacob, who was the most important seat manufacturer of the Louis XVI, Directoire, Consulat and Empire periods.

Our bedside table was delivered to a major personality in the immediate entourage of Napoleon, his secretary Bourrienne, and was included in the latter's estate. It is typical of the Empire style, of neo-classical inspiration related to a renewed interest in antiquity. It is richly decorated with figurative and decorative gilt bronzes, including a large lying dog in the lower part of the furniture. A similar copy is displayed in the museum of Fontainebleau.

It is a small piece of furniture, according to its usage: 80 cm high, 40 cm wide, 33 cm deep. For this reason, a small price is awaited: 30 K €.

This is an opportunity for me to acknowledge a significant progress on the site Interencheres.tv, whose videos are now visible in high definition and full screen. The video dedicated to the sale of Saint-Germain-en-Laye is presented by Mr. Dey, an expert in historical memories who is famous in French auction sales.

A widget on the main page of this network gives you ongoing access to the latest videos from this site (in French).

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Result: 60 K € fees included. That's good. The estimate had seemed low to me.