Desk or bureau Mazarin, French (Paris), ca. 1700-1715.

A writing desk or bureau Mazarin, in marquetry of brass, copper, tin or pewter, ebony, ivory, mother-of pearl and clear turtle shell and horn with paper backing, with a central drawer and door, flanked on either side by three drawers, supported respectively by four scroll legs terminating in a stretcher.

Given by Mrs J. A. Bonner, Brighton

At one time in the collection of Captain Charles Spencer Ricketts (1788-1867). Charles Spencer Ricketts RN (1788- 27 February 1867) went to sea at the age of 7 (in 1795) and served with Nelson, being promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 14 December 1809, finally attaining the rank of Commander before retiring as a Captain. On 3 February 1814 he married and heiress, Elizabeth Sophia, daughter of Thomas Aubrey and neice of Sir John Aubrey, 6th Bt., from whom she inherited in 1826. Charles Spencer Rickett lived at Dorton House near Thame, Buckinghamshire and on 6 February 1834 because High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire. He maintained a house in London. From at least 1843 until after 1854 his London house is listed in the Post Office Directory as 2 Hyde Park Terrace. In 1866 Mrs Ricketts was listed as living at 5 Grosvenor Square and Dorton House. Capt Rickets was a noted collector, particularly of French furniture.

This writing table or bureau mazarin belongs to a small group of similarly richly ornamented piece, using transparent horn over painting, mother-of-pearl and turtle shell. The most celebrated is that made for Maximilien II Emmanuel, Elector of Bavaria (delivered after 1715). This is now in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (inv. no. 87.DA.77). A smaller bureau mazarin with the arms of Retz is in the British Royal Collection (inv. no. RCIN 39213), acquired by George III for Queen Charlotte. There is another at Saltram, Devon, in the collections of the National Trust (inv. no. NT 871294), said to have once belonged to Sarah Duchess of Marlborough.

The pair to this writing table (in premier-partie marquetry of brass and horn set into turtle shell, with closely similar marquetry) was sold by Christie's, London, in the Exceptional Sale, 2 July 2024, lot 23. This was formerly at Buxted Park, probably since the early 19th century.

There are some similarities in the use of materials between the marquetry on this piece and on the casket V&A 1053-1882 but the subject of the designs differ. A small writing table sold from the Keck Collection, La Lanterne, Bel Air, by Sotheby's, NY, 30 November- 5 December 1991, lot 31 shares similar subject matter to that on the V&A casket but the form of the legs is closer to this piece.

This form of desk, which became fashionable in France at the end of the seventeenth century, is often called a 'bureau Mazarin'. The term clearly clearly attempts to link the form with the statesman Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661), but it was not used before the 19th-century (N. de Reyniès, pp. 378-379, see References). Although such tables are generally thought to have been used as desks, several late seventeenth century engravings show them in use as dressing tables (P. Thornton, p. 231, n.25, see References).

The earliest known table of this form was made about 1669 and is first documented in the Journal du Garde-Meuble (a register of furniture supplied to the French royal households) in 1676. That table is attributed to the royal cabinet-maker, Pierre Gole (N. de Reyniès, p. 378, see References). Another desk of this form is in the Royal Collection at Windsor and bears the arms of the duchesse de Retz (most likely Paul-Françoise Marguerite de Gondi (1655-1716).

This desk forms part of a small group of similar tables, linked closely by their form and decoration, and all of the highest sophistication of design. One of these is known to have been made for the Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian II Emanuel (1662-1726) who spent years of exile in France. As with the V&A piece and that made for the Elector of Bavaria, highly coloured marquetry on a brass ground was employed.

There are many parallels within this group in the design and disposition of the figures, flowers and fantastic birds. Perhaps the most striking is the repetition on the recessed centre panel of each desk of the motif of an obelisk wrapped in a garland of ivy. Other details of the marquetry are repeated on all of these pieces and on other types of furniture, suggesting that they form the output of a single workshop (G. Himmelheber, p. 250-263, see References).

Attribution note: Several of the coloured areas of the marquetry, including the elaborate baskets of flowers and the areas coloured green, were made by gluing painted paper to the back of the clear horn. This allowed the cabinet-maker to bring into his piece some of the brightest colours, which were otherwise only available in pietre dure. Unlike furniture veneered with wood, which inevitably fades and discolours over the years, this desk retains much of its original brilliant colouring.

This type of writing desk, with eight legs and a bank of drawers either side of a knee-hole, is known today as a bureau Mazarin. This is a 19th-century term. These desks have no connection with the era of Louis XIV of France's chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661), for they came into fashion in the 1670s. Many surviving bureaux Mazarins are sumptuous examples of the fine craftsmanship of 17th-century French ébénistes (cabinet-makers). A number of them are listed in the inventories that record the contents of the palace of Versailles near Paris and other royal residences.

372:1, 2-1901