380 - A Chinese-style European-lacquered cabinet with a drop-down secretary top.

A Chinese-style European-lacquered cabinet with a drop-down secretary top. Decorated with lively lake landscapes and birds with gold branches on a black background. Short, curved legs with bronze feet; the front legs extend from the rounded side panels and are topped with openwork bronze finials. The slightly arched front opens via a drop-down door revealing five compartments and six small compartments, three of which are lockable. The lower section opens with two doors, revealing three compartments and a solid panel. Molded Aleppo breccia marble top (attached). Stamped “DELORME,” Adrien Delorme Faizelot, master’s certificate obtained on June 22, 1748. Louis XV period. H. 132 cm – W. 93 cm – D. 44.5 cm (Damage, cracks, lacquer repairs, restorations). Eighteenth-century almanacs cite him as one of the most skilled cabinetmakers. François de Salverte notes in his work *Les Ebénistes du XVIIIème siècle*: “His early works are almost all finished with European varnishes imitating Far Eastern lacquers.” The style of our secretary desk—particularly its “low cabinet” form, meaning it lacks a bottom drawer, and its characteristic decoration—allows us to date it to around 1750. Adrien Delorme (1722–1791) came from a distinguished line of Parisian cabinetmakers bearing the name Faizelot. He learned his craft in the workshop of his father, François Delorme, who already specialized in the production of lacquered or varnished furniture.