Writing Table (bureau plat)
by CARLIN, Martin, Oak veneered with tulipwood and set with 14 soft-paste porcelain plaques with bleu céleste ground colour, polychrome enamel decoration, gilding; set with gilt bronze mounts, modern leather top, 78 x 131 x 62 cm
The marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre purchased the porcelain plaques that decorate the sides of this table from the S�vres Porcelain Manufactory specifically to be mounted on furniture. Once ordered from S�vres, the porcelain plaques, including the unusually-shaped ones at either end of the table, would have been given by the dealer to the �b�niste Martin Carlin with orders to mount them onto a newly designed piece.
This table was among the pieces of furniture that Daguerre sold in May 1782 to Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna and Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia, who later became the Czar and Czarina. They made an unofficial trip through Europe traveling as the comte and comtesse du Nord. The Duchess installed the table in her bedroom at the Palace of Pavlosk, near St. Petersburg.