(Mechanical table) Jean-François Oeben

Long recognized as one of Jean-François Oeben’s masterpieces, this table (ca. 1761–63) was made for his frequent and most important client, Madame de Pompadour. The main charge of her coat of arms, a tower, appears at the top of the gilt-bronze mount at each corner. The marquetry of the top—one of the finest panels in all of Oeben’s furniture—was designed to reflect her interests in the arts and depicts a vase of flowers as well as trophies emblematic of architecture, painting, music, and gardening. The table, completed after Oeben’s death by his brother-in-law Roger Vandercruse, demonstrates Oeben’s talents, not only as a creator of beautiful furniture but also as a mechanic: an elaborate mechanism allows the top to slide back at the same time as the larger drawer moves forward, thereby doubling the surface area.