Empire style desk with lift, Central Italy
Description:
Empire style desk from Central Italy, supported by leonine feet. The front features a retractable door, which can be opened through a mechanism accessible at the bottom of the piece and concealing two drawers. It is surmounted by a drawer of reduced dimensions. In the upper part, a retractable roll-top door conceals a pull-out writing surface with a faux-Moroccan insert (later replaced), equipped with a spring system that provides access to hidden compartments; there are also open compartments and drawers. The lift has a single mirrored door that conceals an interior with compartments and drawers. The uprights on the front have a characteristic truncated-pyramidal shape, ending with bronze-gilt drip trays and surmounted by female herms in burnished bronze in the lower body, while in the upper body there are Egyptian caryatids. Made of mahogany, the interiors are in chestnut.