Late 19th Century French Ebonised Bureau Plat Writing Table

A very fine quality and chic late 19th century ebonised French bureau plat / writing table. French likely Paris made circa 1890 Of large size, this fine bureau plat or writing table has an overall ebonised finish with ormolu mounts, the combination being both classic and instantly luxurious. The legs have octagonal collars to the tops in ormolu and ormolu is also used around the shaped apron on the frieze and running around the table top with the whole standing on ormolu toupie toe mounts. The top of the table has canted corners and this is echoed, albeit in a more rounded fashion, on the corners of the deeper drawers set in to the frieze. Retaining its original leather top, black to match the finish of the piece and with beautifully-executed embossed tooling. The underside of the table retains the maker's stamp which is very hard to see but extremely likely a Parisian firm as the quality, design and use of materials is of the highest standard. The bureau plat is one of the most recognisable pieces of classical French furniture with all the great makers of the 18th and 19th centuries having produced pieces in this form. In the 20th century, ebonised versions of the bureau plat became very popular with firms such as Maison Jansen who regarded them as the perfect complement to the interiors that they were producing at the time, the clean lines and sophistication of the design of the present piece being exactly what inspired such decorative titans to create similar examples in their own workshops.