Lot 192: A RUSSIAN BRASS-MOUNTED MAHOGANY DESK ATTRIBUTED TO CHRISTIAN MEYER, ST.

A RUSSIAN BRASS-MOUNTED MAHOGANY DESK ATTRIBUTED TO CHRISTIAN MEYER, ST. PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1790 With stepped superstructure centrally fitted with a pair of rectangular covered panelled doors enclosing a shelf and flanked by a further pair of similarly panelled doors fitted with roundels and surmounted by a pierced threequarter gallery with inset gilt-tooled black leather writing panel above three short panelled frieze drawers on circular fluted legs joined by two rectangular undertiers, ending in turned feet 51.5 in. (131 cm.) high, 70.5 in. (179 cm.) wide, 37 in. (94 cm.) deep With its rich mahogany timber, signature brass inlay, somber yet elegant shape, this desk of grand proportions exemplifies the so-called Russian Jacob style (stil' zhakob) of the 17900s in reference to the celebrated French chairmaker Georges Jacob. This desk is closely related to - and possibly and example of - the oeuvre of the celebrated St. Petersburg cabinetmaker Christian Meyer (b. circa 1750), who was one of several German cabinetmakers based in the Russian capital. His oeuvre is related to that of David Roentgen (1743-1807), who has often been regarded as his tutor. This is however highly unlikely as Meyer's family had probably already been based in Russia for generations and Meyer had been independently active as a cabinet-maker long before Roentgen's arrival in Russia. Meyer was favored by the Imperial Court and received numerous prestigious commissions. In the 1811 inventory of the Hermitage, 145 pieces by Meyer are listed, which had been supplied from 1787 onwards. He also gave carpentry lessons to the Grand Dukes Alexander and Constantine, grandsons of Catherine the Great. One of his most celebrated pieces is a monumental mahogany desk, mounted with characteristic drapery handles, which he supplied to the Council of the Navy in the 1790s.