- Paris, c. 1761
- Oak, elm, limewood and exotic woods; gilt bronze, velvet, mirror
- Inv. 749
Mechanical table
The flowing, yet sober lines of this piece, combined with the perfection of the decoration and the precision of the mechanism it holds, make this one of the masterpieces of the Calouste Gulbenkian Collection.
The lid, completely covered by a motif alluding to the construction of the Military Academy, slides back when a key is turned to show a reading stand flanked by two compartments covered by hinged flap. The reading stand, lined with green velvet, turns on a horizontal axis, to reveal a mirror on its reverse.
Madame de Pompadour may have commissioned this table as a gift for the Duke of Argenson. Mechanical furniture was one of the great novelties of the eighteenth century, greatly appreciated by a society that loved to be surrounded by luxurious objects, but was not above using them for practical purposes, especially if they added to their comfort.
Rothschild Collection, Frankfurt; Albert de Goldschmidt-Rothschild Collection, Berlin. Acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian through Mme Petrocochino, December 1929.
Coutinho 1999
Maria Isabel Pereira Coutinh, 18th-Century French Furniture. Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 1999, p. 167–76, no. 14.
Versailles 2000
Chefs-d’oeuvre du musée Gulbenkian de Lisbonne. Meubles et objets royaux du XVIIIe siècle français, exhibition catalogue. Versailles: Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, 2000, pp. 70–5, no. 19.