{"id":9797,"date":"2025-03-15T15:20:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T14:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebenisterie-mathieuvath.fr\/?p=9797"},"modified":"2026-08-22T11:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T09:53:31","slug":"bureau-a-caisson-8-pieds-regence-au-masques-de-democrite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebenisterie-mathieuvath.fr\/en\/2025\/03\/15\/bureau-a-caisson-8-pieds-regence-au-masques-de-democrite\/","title":{"rendered":"8-foot Regency style pedestal desk with Democritus masks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Restoration of a Regency period double-sided flat-fronted desk with a drawer unit, veneered entirely in kingwood. The sides feature a diamond-point frieze, and the drawer fronts are decorated with an inverted slab pattern. Each side opens with four drawers in the frieze, and one central drawer on the other side. The top is edged with a molding and gilt leather tooled in small pieces, resting on eight cabriole legs ending in goat hooves. Most notably, it features two emblematic bronzes from the oeuvre of Andr\u00e9 Charles Boulle: the mask of Democritus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, gilded bronze masks are recurrent in Boulle's work; the masks of the Greek philosophers Democritus and Heraclitus are mentioned in the post-mortem inventory carried out in 1732.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this desk clearly does not belong to the production of the famous cabinetmaker. Since the masks created by Boulle were copied during his lifetime, we can only attribute the production of this desk to someone close to the master's workshop. Our bronzes are closer to those found on the Elector of Bavaria's desk by BVRB I than to those from Boulle's workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will find on the following link a magnificent 3D reproduction of Boulle's Democritus created by Explovision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/chateaudechantilly.fr\/numerisation-3d-mobilier-boulle<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bibliography<\/h3>\n\n\n\n