Berlin, 1771
Nut wood, veined not wood, maple and elm tree veneered with tie inlays of rose wood and fine, originally fire gilt fittings.
With adhesive label “Johann Frantz Miller Anno 1771 dem 25. May in Berlin“.
The piece of furniture equates in structure and quality the writing cupboard that was required by the Berlin carpenter’s guild to gain the master title in the late 18th century.
The work had to be produced within twenty weeks in an external workshop following strict instructions: the top had to be constructed with three drawers above a swung commode, the upper part with two doors had to be crowned by a swung gable.
This bureau exactly follows with its basic form that required design and offers furthermore fine decorative details such as the cube-shaped marquetry on the pilaster strips of the upper part or the carved ornaments, with whose the future master showed his abilities.
Height 230 cm, width 132 cm, depth 72 cm.
Stiegel, “Berliner Möbelkunst“, Munich 2003, page 55-58.
