RARE SECRETAIRE BY FERDINAND SCHWERDFEGER (1734-1818) Mahogany veneered secretaire with flap and doucine sides. The top opens to a flap topped by a drawer. Under the top drawer (cloverleaf key) is a secret slide revealing a document holder and releasing spring-loaded side boards, one of which (on the left) is marked on the reverse in black ink: "FERDINAND SCHDVERDFEGER / ME . EBENISTE . APARIS". The flap (cloverleaf key) reveals a large top drawer over four compartments and four drawers separated by a secret compartment. The lower part of the cabinet opens to reveal a locker and a safety deposit box (ace of spades key). Sainte Anne grey marble top with gilded bronze openwork gallery. Applied gilt bronze stars, small chased and gilt bronze lion's heads, gilt fillets and lion's paw feet. Late Louis XVI period, late 18th century. Height: 143.5 cm - Width: 96 cm - Depth: 67 cm (Good general condition, rare small accidents, restorations and missing pieces) BIBLIOGRAPHY : - Marc-André Paulin, "Schwerdfeger, ébéniste de Marie-Antoinette", in L'Estampille / L'Objet d'Art, October 2003, n°384, p.66-79 (reproduced) ; - Connaissance des Arts, 1990, n° 468 to 460, p. 68. - Michel Beurdeley, Trois siècles de ventes publiques, Paris: Tallandier, 1988, pp. 162 and 163 (reproduced) PROVENANCE : - Galerie Ghislaine David; acquired in 1991 (invoice). This secrétaire à abattant is an invaluable testimony to the talent and virtuosity of Ferdinand Schwerdfeger (1734-1818), the cabinetmaker responsible for the famous jewel box presented to Queen Marie-Antoinette by the City of Paris in 1787 (Paris, Musée du Louvre, on deposit at the Château de Versailles, OA 5515). Works by this exceptional craftsman rarely appear on the market, and this is a rare opportunity to acquire a piece of furniture authentically signed by his hand. Made at the end of the Ancien Régime, certain elements of its decorative vocabulary - such as the stars adorning the front - already heralded the forms to be found under the Empire. Born in Germany, Schwerdfeger moved to Paris in 1760 and obtained his master's degree in May 1786. He set up his workshop in the capital and quickly made a name for himself with the quality and originality of his creations. Close to the circles of the Court and the Garde-Meuble royal, he collaborated with Jean-Henri Riesener and Guillaume Benneman, with whom he shared the rigour of assembly and the exacting standards of veneering. His work is in the late Louis XVI style, softened by a Neoclassicism of great purity. He also produced furniture for the Russian court - notably a large console table - with bronzes by Gouthière and Thomire. Schwerdfeger's technical ingenuity is fully apparent in this piece of furniture. Removing the top drawer has recently opened up access to a leaf-spring system concealed in the back: by sliding it forward, it frees up two side panels, one of which reveals the cabinetmaker's handwritten signature on the inside - a rare feature, executed in ink rather than the usual cold-ironing technique. The flap also reveals small secret drawers, once used to conceal correspondence or precious objects. This fascination with ingenious mechanisms can be explained by Schwerdfeger's collaboration with the greatest watchmakers of his time - Antide Janvier, Jean-Simon Bourdier and Robert Robin - for whom he made several cases of regulators and clocks. While a few major pieces are well known and are kept in museums, such as Marie-Antoinette's jewel-band, most of the creations of this compatriot of Riesener remain little-known. This rarity is probably explained by his habit of concealing his signature, as here, in an unusual place. Other works by Riesener include a lady's writing desk signed and dated 1788 (Musée du Louvre, OA 6871), a pair of corner pieces sold at Drouot in 2013, a chest of drawers sold at Sotheby's (Ezra & Cecile Zilkha sale, 20 November 2020, lot 127), a chest of drawers with corner pieces kept at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Bordeaux, and a small mahogany chest of drawers and secretary (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).