Lot 292: An important Spanish neoclassical ormolu-mounted mahogany bureau-coiffeuse signed Gabriel Gomez and dated 13 February 1817

the top drawer opening to reveal a leather-lined writing surface, the interior fitted with a spring activated compartment with a glazed covered door with two small secret drawers at the back, the whole flanked on either side by the two double-tiered drawers; the back with two rows of three small drawers above three long drawers; the interior traverse of a drawer bears the engraved inscription La hizo Gabriel Gomez año de 1817 a 13 febrero.

measurements height 35 3/4 in.; width 50 1/4 in.; depth 3/4 in. alternate measurements 91cm; 128 cm; 81 cm

Aurélia et Anne Lovreglio, Dictionnaire des Mobiliers et des Objets d'art du Moyen Âge au XXIe siècle, Paris, 2006, p. 162, fig. 2
Claudio Paolini, Mobili e arredi dell'ottocento, Novara, 1999, pp. 126-127

The rich décor and quality of the bronzes and the quality of the mahogany veneer make this one of the most important pieces of Spanish Empire furniture outside of the Spanish Royal Collections. This bureau, which combines various functions as both a dressing table and a desk relates to a select group of furniture commissioned by the Duchess of Alba and still preserved in the Palacio Liria in Madrid. One such piece, a pedestal desk is illustrated in L. Feduchi, El Mueble Español, Barcelona, 1969, fig. 227, 228. The ormolu mounts such as the sphinxes and the figures of fame recall numerous design elements from the design book by Percier and Fontaine, Recueil de Décoration Intérieures. They are of exceptionally fine quality for Spanish bronzes and therefore may have been ordered in Paris from a bronzier such as Thomire, whose work they recall. The desk has the further distinction of being signed and dated by the cabinet-maker, Gabriel Gomez. Research to date has not yet uncovered any further information on him.