Highlight objects at Buckingham Palace
Learn more about the decorative arts on display at Buckingham Palace this summer
ATTRIBUTED TO JEAN-HENRI RIESENER (1734-1806)
Roll top desk (bureau à cylindre)
c. 1775-80Oak, purplewood, mahogany, casuarina wood, holly, boxwood and sycamore, with gilt bronze mounts | 128.9 x 137.8 x 81.3 cm (whole object) | RCIN 2431
This roll-top desk made by Jean-Henri Riesener is veneered in purplewood, mahogany, casuarina wood, holly, boxwood, sycamore and other woods, giving a remarkably detailed decorative effect. The centre of the roll-top shows a trophy of Poetry and Literature. George IV purchased the desk in 1825 to furnish Windsor Castle.
