18th-century Louis XV sloped desk "bureau de pente" - yellow birch 37½"

A superb bureau de pente, or sloped desk, from Toulouse dating from the mid-eighteenth-century (Louis XV/Transition period). This piece was crafted using yellow birch wood, also known as wild cherry, which is a valuable wood, highly sought after for its compact texture and amber color that deepens with age.

Closed, the desk features two smaller drawers at the top and a longer drawer below, fitted with decorative bronze fittings and handles. The curved top panel piece opens flat to reveal a desk with six small drawers with brass buttons that are stacked in tiers of three on either side. A "secret drawer" is carved out of the center between the tiered drawers and slides easily with the protruding tab for additional storage.

The desk rests on four cabriole sauteuse-style legs with escargot feet. The side panels are scalloped, and the piece is finely curved and finished on all sides so it can easily rest in the center of a room or situate offset from a wall. Note, traces of usual restorations. Keys all work using the original lower half mechanism; the exposed decorative half of the key was restored using similar bronze decoration to match the original Louis XV style in all its original glory.