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Item 3098 Renaissance Library Table or Desk Dimensions Width 55½, Height 30, Depth 29½ (in inches) Wood Solid walnut Date Circa 1890 Country France Description This solid walnut desk combines Renaissance style with more modern features  to result in a comfortable and pleasing piece of furniture to incorporate in a contemporary lifestyle.  The desk’s design is based on models spanning the late Gothic into Renaissance 16th century styles of library tables or desks with a central, “H” shaped stretcher and vertical supports at either end incorporating pilasters.  The lion’s foot design of the four corners of the base shows the desk’s roots in the Italian Renaissance.  The top is solid walnut with an inset of genuine leather.  The frieze around the top incorporates dentil moulding, yet another classic element of 16th century design.  Just below the frieze is a wide central drawer and two narrower side drawers along with pull-out shelves for writing.  The drawers all lock with their original keys.  Overall, the depth of color and patina of the walnut make this piece a striking example of the furniture maker’s creativity and profound respect for the wood when reinterpreting styles of earlier periods. Reference Antiquités et Objets D'Art 10, Le Mobilier Italien (Editions Fabri, Paris, 1990); Rousseau, Francis, Le Grand Livre des Meubles (Copyright Studio, Paris, 1999) Uses This desk is ideal for use in a home office and would fit well in a library setting, an entryway or behind a sofa.