BONHEUR DU JOUR Napoleon III period Ebony veneer; brass marquetry; gilt bronze Domed leaves H. 144 cm, W. 75 cm, D. 50 cm Provenance Collection J.B. This Boulle marquetry desk consists of a cabinet opening with two raised leaves and two drawers and a table with a drawer forming a writing desk as was still made in France in the 1870s (fig. 1). The gilded bronze trim of ours is particularly rich and the motifs drawn by brass on a varied ebony background. The upper part forming a cabinet has a curved pediment flanked by two bronze vases. The cornice is underlined by a frieze of oves which is found in the frame of the leaves, the frame enhanced by a beam and the uprights with rocaille falls enclosing lion's heads in marquetry. On the leaves, fine arabesques escape from flowered vases where fantastic animals confront each other. The base is decorated with music trophies in brass on the top and in bronze on the belt. Women's heads wearing braids and a diadem emphasize the arch of the four legs. Our cabinetmaker-maker, who seems to have drawn his inspiration from the work of André-Charles Boulle and his emulators, has reinterpreted his models and adapted them to the shape of this secretary with great delicacy.