Bonheur-Du-Jour
1790-1800 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The lower section comprises a table on square tapering legs, with a frieze drawer with baize-lined brushing slide (the green baize not original). The recessed upper section comprises a central cupboard fitted with two glazed doors, lined with pink pleated silk; flanked by two pigeon-holes each over a small drawer. The right drawer is partitioned to form three small compartments at the left, the back one with a slope from front to back, and a single main compartment. No fittings (ink bottles etc.) survive.
Above the pigeon-holes are two blind lunette-shaped cavities, and behind these a serpentine-topped board which spans the full width of the superstructure, forming a top to the whole.
The whole is made largely of mahogany, including all three drawers and the backboard of the frieze-drawer cavity. The legs are fitted with square socket brass castors.
All is veneered in satinwood, with pale stringing and rosewood(?) cross-banding, except for the legs which have dark (ebonized rather than ebony?) stringing. The front face of the top lunettes are inlaid with shells in pale wood against a green-stained ground. The six visible blockings at the top of the legs are also inlaid with shells in oval surrounds, in similar woods.
Above the pigeon-holes are two blind lunette-shaped cavities, and behind these a serpentine-topped board which spans the full width of the superstructure, forming a top to the whole.
The whole is made largely of mahogany, including all three drawers and the backboard of the frieze-drawer cavity. The legs are fitted with square socket brass castors.
All is veneered in satinwood, with pale stringing and rosewood(?) cross-banding, except for the legs which have dark (ebonized rather than ebony?) stringing. The front face of the top lunettes are inlaid with shells in pale wood against a green-stained ground. The six visible blockings at the top of the legs are also inlaid with shells in oval surrounds, in similar woods.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Mahogany veneered with satinwood with inlay of holly(?), green-stained fruitwood(?) and pale and dark wood stringing; glazed upper doors lined with pleated pink silk; frieze drawer with baize-lined brushing slide (the green baize not original); brass socket castors |
| Brief description | Satinwood bow-fronted Bonheur-du-jour raised on four tapering legs, English, 1790-1800. One main drawer in frieze with two small drawers above. Centre cupboard has glass doors with red satin behind. |
| Physical description | The lower section comprises a table on square tapering legs, with a frieze drawer with baize-lined brushing slide (the green baize not original). The recessed upper section comprises a central cupboard fitted with two glazed doors, lined with pink pleated silk; flanked by two pigeon-holes each over a small drawer. The right drawer is partitioned to form three small compartments at the left, the back one with a slope from front to back, and a single main compartment. No fittings (ink bottles etc.) survive. Above the pigeon-holes are two blind lunette-shaped cavities, and behind these a serpentine-topped board which spans the full width of the superstructure, forming a top to the whole. The whole is made largely of mahogany, including all three drawers and the backboard of the frieze-drawer cavity. The legs are fitted with square socket brass castors. All is veneered in satinwood, with pale stringing and rosewood(?) cross-banding, except for the legs which have dark (ebonized rather than ebony?) stringing. The front face of the top lunettes are inlaid with shells in pale wood against a green-stained ground. The six visible blockings at the top of the legs are also inlaid with shells in oval surrounds, in similar woods. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by Lady B R F Henriques |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Lady Henriques, the acquisition recorded in Registered File 53/986 (on Nominal File MA/1/H1634). The writing table came from Normandy Park, near Guildford, Surrey, where Lady Henriques had a collection of furniture made between 1790 and 1820, including a number of pieces in satinwood. She was the widow of Sir Philip Gutterez Henriques (1867-1950), a barrister and civil servant. Their only son, Philip, was killed in action in 1815, and from 1930, Lady Henriques had been seeking to make bequests to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the V&A of pieces from her collection. On loan to Preston Hall, Stockton on Tees, 1955-2008. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.3-1954 |
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| Record created | February 12, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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