Puzzled I am and so was the V&A....

[Woodbloke]

I spent an enjoyable few days last week with No.1 son and No.1 grandson (boy energy!!) in Bromley and on Wednesday last, I spent a fandabby day at the V&A. Just as I was going down the exit tunnel towards the Tube, I decided to look in on the last gallery on the lhs and spotted this very pleasant, late 18th century French writing table:



...which is or was, worth a small fortune. However, on closer inspection, I found that somebody had nailed and screwed:



...some lengths of metal to the bottom of the doors and drawer, so that they couldn't be opened. Around the rim of the writing surface, a metal banding had also been screwed which seemed to be to be completely out of context. It wasn't the only one as I spotted a couple of other pieces:



...with the same metal banding, one of which (no photo, doh!) had been screwed on with modern, slightly rounded head, brass screws!

Having dragged one of the V&A staff over to have a look, they were also puzzled. If the populace of the WH2 could shed some light, I'd be grateful - Rob

 

[AndyT]

How weird!

I can't believe that anyone at the museum would have done that. So maybe it had a really unappreciative owner who didn't want passers by meddling with the interior and told one of his staff to modify it.

Then when the V and A acquired it, they cleaned it up but left the additional metalwork as part of its history.

If that's right, there ought to be an explanation on its gallery description.

Unfortunately, the online search at

Explore the Collections · V&A

Explore the Collections

www.vam.ac.uk

is unavailable at the moment so I can't check this wild guess.

 

[Woodbloke]

How weird!

I can't believe that anyone at the museum would have done that. So maybe it had a really unappreciative owner who didn't want passers by meddling with the interior and told one of his staff to modify it.

Then when the V and A acquired it, they cleaned it up but left the additional metalwork as part of its history.

If that's right, there ought to be an explanation on its gallery description.

Unfortunately, the online search at

Explore the Collections · V&A

Explore the Collections

www.vam.ac.uk

is unavailable at the moment so I can't check this wild guess.

Thanks Andy. When I showed the pieces to the V&A member of staff she confessed complete bewilderment and said "once you see it, you can't unsee it" They were obviously fixed in place years ago, but whoever the culprit was, he or she did catastrophic damage and probably made them virtually worthless. If the metalwork was removed, the nail/screw holes would need an expert repair job and the whole piece(s) would need to be re-polished - Rob

 

[Cabinetman]

Most strange, it looks a bit like old brass curtain track in front of the drawers, 1940’s 50’s? I can hear the little wheels running along it now!
Seems unusual for a writing desk to have that full shelf just where you would want to park your feet though, must say at first glance I thought it was Chinese//Japanese, but it’s not really my forte.
Ian

 

[AndyT]

Ok, a new suggestion.

The tasteless previous owner had a glass top made, crudely retained by the curtain track and brass strip, so they could use the table to hold flowers or something.

The V and A staff removed the glass and the desk is now somewhere in a long queue awaiting remedial work by a restorer. Meanwhile, not many visitors notice, so it's a low priority.

 

[Eric the Viking]

Cacti - the ones in our kitchen always damage me if I go anywhere near them.

 

[AndyT]

I thought I'd check if the V&A Database was up and running again, and it is.

This link should take you to the full catalogue record for this table, which was (it says) made by Roger Vandercruse Lacroix in Paris in about 1775:

Writing Table | Roger Vandercruse Lacroix | V&A Explore The Collections

Small writing table with superstructure, often called a <i>bonheur du jour</i>, with marquetry of Chinese pots, writing equipment and tea bowls.

collections.vam.ac.uk

It also says that the museum have owned it since 1882. There's no explicit mention of the metal strip, but there are nice high-resolution zoomable images of the whole piece. The metal trim doesn't interfere with the doors and isn't for holding a glass cover. It's there in the old B&W photo in the old paper catalogue.

I now think that the metal strip must be original, even though it looks a bit battered and not as neat as the marquetry. I agree that the screws don't all match and some are missing. I think it must just be the case that at some time in its history a few missing screws were replaced with the nearest available equivalents.

It's amazing what you can notice if you look properly at a piece in a museum, isn't it?

 

[Woodbloke]

I thought I'd check if the V&A Database was up and running again, and it is.

This link should take you to the full catalogue record for this table, which was (it says) made by Roger Vandercruse Lacroix in Paris in about 1775:

Writing Table | Roger Vandercruse Lacroix | V&A Explore The Collections

Small writing table with superstructure, often called a <i>bonheur du jour</i>, with marquetry of Chinese pots, writing equipment and tea bowls.

collections.vam.ac.uk

It also says that the museum have owned it since 1882. There's no explicit mention of the metal strip, but there are nice high-resolution zoomable images of the whole piece. The metal trim doesn't interfere with the doors and isn't for holding a glass cover. It's there in the old B&W photo in the old paper catalogue.

I now think that the metal strip must be original, even though it looks a bit battered and not as neat as the marquetry. I agree that the screws don't all match and some are missing. I think it must just be the case that at some time in its history a few missing screws were replaced with the nearest available equivalents.

It's amazing what you can notice if you look properly at a piece in a museum, isn't it?

Many thanks indeed for that Andy! If as is supposed, the metal trim is original and doesn't interfere with the operation of the doors (and drawer?) it still begs the question of why it was installed like that in the first place? Why also was the metal banding screwed around the edge of this piece and two others that I happened to spot last week? - Rob....still puzzled

Edit - images don't open on the linkie

 

[AndyT]

Ok more guesswork - why metal trim? Instead of vulnerable cross-banded veneer, to add even more bling factor, and to tie in with the gaudy ormolu/brass decorative bits on the legs, and the friezes on the gallery and lower shelf. Your second picture shows that gilded brass trim was a deliberate part of the overall look and the curves around the cabriole legs look quite neatly done.

Why screws? - I don't think there was anything else that they could they have used. Presumably it would have all been even shinier and well-matched when the piece was new, with the gold plating and lacquer alongside the unfaded marquetry. I don't know much about this sort of show-off palace furniture and don't like it, though I can respect the skill that went into making it. I do think that "raised head" - as seen on these pieces - looks better than plain countersunk or round head would.

As for the missing images, I got the same problems on mobile and here on a PC - which "helpfully" indicates a 502 bad gateway - which I think means that the images come from a different server than the text, and it's overloaded or unreachable at the moment. Should be back up when the IT support team look at the error logs.

 

[Eric the Viking]

Given the period, it makes me wonder if it might be, literally, upmarket campaign furniture. Not collapsible, but intended to be transported a lot.

 

[Cabinetman]

You could well be right Eric.
Thanks for those pics Andy it makes much more sense now that I can see the drawer is actually a pull out writing surface, - I had said that it seemed strange having a bottom shelf where you would want to put your feet at a desk.

 

[AndyT]

@Woodbloke have a look now - the photos are back!

 

[Woodbloke]

@Woodbloke have a look now - the photos are back!

indeed Andy, I can see now that the drawers and door are unaffected by the ironwork If you have a gander at the back of the piece, the corner ornamentation was also screwed on (as was the fancy criss cross stuff) and there's one bit missing so you can see the screw 'oles! - Rob