A Louis XVI bois satiné cylinder desk by Jacques-Laurent Cosson, circa 1790

According to paper label, formerly in the collections of George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex (1757-1839);

Upon his death, given to Mr Henry Rich.

Jacques-Laurent Cosson (1737-1812) was a cabinet maker working on the rue de Caronne in Paris. He was made a maitre ébéniste in 1765.[1]Cosson did produce a number of highly elaborate pieces of marquetry furniture during the reign of Louis XV – for example, a commode sold at Sotheby’s London, 24^th June 1988, lot 56. However, these two tables are much more characteristic of Cosson’s restrained and ‘often sober’ style.[2] Pierre Kjellberg comments that Cosson’s most typical pieces were, veneered in solid wood, ‘with bands of solid gilded bronze’, which is entirely in keeping with the present lot.[3]

The Earl of Essex referenced in the label on the underside of the lid was George Capel-Coningsby, 5^th Earl of Essex (1757-1839). He was a notable patron of the arts, instructing James Wyatt and Humphrey Repton to carry out extensive work to the house and garden of the family seat, Cassiobury House. In his obituary, his additions to Cassiobury were commended as ‘the best evidence that can be adduced of the good taste and good sense of the munificent master of the domain.’[4] While it is not known who Henry Rich – the desk’s inheritor – was, Capel-Coningsby died without an heir and the estate and title passed to his nephew.

The bureau à cylindre was a popular furniture form at the end of the eighteenth century. When unlocked, the covering cylinder can be rolled back seamlessly into the recesses of the carcase, revealing a writing surface and – typically a series other drawers and pigeonholes in which to store writing materials, as well as providing greater security and peace of mind to its owner. A near-identical model – though with was sold at Sotheby’s London, 24^th November 1988, lot 100.

[1] Pierre Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Francais du XVIIIe Siècle : Dictionnaire des Ebénistes et des Menuisiers. Paris, Les éditions de l’amateur, 1998, 178.

[2] ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] “Obituary: The Earl of Essex”,  The Gentleman’s Magazine. 165-166, June 1839.