Fine secretaire in cherry and amboyna (from a two piece set) by Alfred Porteneuve

Fine secretaire (forming an original custom set with a storage cabinet, also available) by Alfred Porteneuve (1869-1949) with door opening down to form a writing surface and to reveal stationery storage, and three drawers below, superlatively crafted in fruitwood (likely cherry) with amboyna (burl walnut) on the door/drawer fronts, maple in the desk grid, and brass hardware, France, 1940s.

Details of the cabinet’s modeling work together to create a subtly dynamic sensibility (and also speak to its quality of its execution): the legs terminate with a springing cabriole flare; the crisply modeled frame surrounding doors / drawers tapers out as it moves up, the top is articulated with a secondary plane, the round escutcheon with ovoid knob, and all the hardware and sabots finally keep the ensemble “on point.”

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