French Revolution Antiques: Rare Secretary Desk | Directoire or Late Louis XVI period Decorative Art

A discussion of a particularly fine and interesting example of Directorate period furniture, in rare lemonwood and amaranth wood, enhanced with bedazzling brass ornamentation. Such fall front desks or "secrétaires à abattants" were one staples in domestic interiors (from the mid 18th up to the late 19th centuries).

They remain highly versatile, complicated, and sophisticated pieces for decoration, storage, and the occasional thank you note. They generally present hefty locking mechanisms which once protected one's private correspondences, and a lower compartment referred to as the "safe" or "coffre" in French for storing other valuables. True to their name, secret-ary, they are also known for their various secret compartments.

This piece has been in a private collection for the last 50 years, and will soon be in another - so the video serves to capture it online to share it with other collectors or enthusiasts. These videos should also help orient new collectors in the face of so many items to choose from, namely by shedding light on objectively outstanding period antiques (from the early, pre-industrial timeline in furniture history of about the year 1500 to 1840).