Y A TORTOISESHELL, BRASS 'BOULLE' MARQUETRY AND GILT METAL MOUNTED BUREAU PLATFIRST HALF 19TH CENTURYThe frieze contra partie, the legs premiere partie marquetry, the masks to the central drawers with shell cast tops each with a hinged section to cover the keyhole, incorporating ebonised elements throughout 77cm high, 176cm wide, 120cm deepProvenance: North Mymms Park, Hatfield, HertfordshireFor a closely related bureau plat, see the Royal Collection, inventory number RCIN 35830. The Royal Collection example bears remarkable similarity to this desk.See Hugh Roberts, For The King's Pleasure, The Furnishing and Decoration of George IV's Apartments at Windsor Castle, The Royal Collection, 2001; p.186, Fig. 218, 'French, in the style of A.-C. Boulle, Bureau plat, c.1700 and later (RCIN 35830)'. The Royal Collection bureau plat was part of the group of furniture and furnishings restored between 1827 and 1829 for George IV by the partner of Morel & Seddon for The Secretary's Room, room 208, Windsor Castle.Nicholas Morel had formerly worked for the Prince of Wales, later George IV, on Carlton House and the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. Subsequently, Morel wasmissioned to design and furnish Wyatville's newly built apartments for the Kind at Windsor Castle. In order to fulfil the contract Morel entered into partner with George Seddon III whose family had large and long established furniture workshops in Aldersgate Street in the City of London.See pp. 180-181 for Morel & Seddon colour room designs. There were furniture changes from the original room drawings, the furniture variously supplied by Morel & Seddon, or from other royal residences including Brighton and Carlton House, although no record can be found for the Royal Collection bureau plat on Carlton House inventories. The Morel & Seddon 1829 account book lists the work to the Royal Collection bureau plat 'To thoroughly repairing a large Buhl and tortoiseshell writing table, adding sundry new parts to the Buhl work, relaying, cleaning and highly polishing the whole, restoring the ormoulu (sic) edges, feet etc'.The design for this bureau plat derives from an original pen, black ink and brown wash drawing attributed to André-Charles Boulle, now in the Museé des arts décoratifs, Paris, inv. 723 B2.See Wilson, Bremer-David, Considine, Weaver and Heginbotham, French Furniture & Gilt Bronzes: Baroque and Regence: Catalogue of the J. Paul Getty Museum, p.141, pl.12-h for a related bureau plat attributed to André-Charles Boulle. Also p.138, pl.12-a for related corner mounts of bearded satyrs with pointed ears and horns, and pl. 12-d for a related mount of a bearded satyr crowned with vine leaves and bundles of reeds and backed by a shell.For bureaux of related form, date and gilt metal mounts see:Christie's, Paris, Le gout Francais, 23 April 2013, lot 215 (€49,500)Christies, Paris, Le gout Francais, 4 May 2016, lot 158 (€37,500)