Dutch Bombé Secretaire with Floral Marquetry | Fall-Front Bureau

• Structurally inspected
• Adjusted and reinforced where necessary
• Hand-sanded
• Furniture ready for use

Marquetry is one of the few arts that doesn't tolerate haste. Thousands of light wood pieces, hand-cut one by one, and fitted like a mosaic onto dark wood. Today, almost no one practices it. It takes too long.

This Dutch secretaire is a tribute to that tradition. A fall-front desk atop a three-drawer chest, featuring the characteristic bombé shape of Dutch furniture and carved claw feet. It was made in the mid-20th century, meticulously following the designs and style of the great 18th-century Dutch cabinetmakers.

Floral marquetry covers every surface: bouquets, urns, birds, and if you look closely, a face and a pair of cherubs hidden among the leaves. When the fall-front is lowered, the interior is revealed—another world: small drawers, compartments, turned columns, and a central door, all inlaid. The bombé front of the drawers required each veneer grain to be curved so that the pattern remained unbroken. A machine cannot do that.

It measures 130 centimeters wide, 102 high, and 61 deep. It's a piece with presence: it calls for a living room, an office, or a bedroom where it can be admired head-on. Open, it offers a writing surface; closed, it's a sculpture. And the three lower drawers are fully functional.

No two are alike. There will be no restocking.

── WHAT WE LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS PIECE ──

→ The marquetry with its secrets. Hidden among the flowers are birds, a mask, and two cherubs. These are details you don't see at first glance, but discover on the third day. No mass-produced catalog hides surprises like these.

→ The bombé body and the hidden interior. The curve of the drawers is veneered to follow the bombé shape, a feat of cabinetmaking. And behind the fall-front, a miniature office with turned columns and compartments.

→ Its effect in a room. Closed, it commands attention; open, it invites. It's one of those pieces of furniture that guests look at twice and end up asking where it came from.

── RESTORED IN OUR WORKSHOP IN NAVALCARNERO, MADRID ──

We carefully worked on it in our workshop. We checked the marquetry piece by piece, reattaching the veneer tesserae that time had lifted, and consolidated the bombé front. We adjusted the fall-front and its support system, improved the smooth sliding of the three drawers, and cleaned the bronze fittings.

Today, the fall-front opens and rests firmly, the drawers glide well, and the marquetry looks stable and complete. It arrives ready to take its place.

A piece selected and restored by Antique Arte y Decoración — specializing since 2015 in antique furniture, with our own workshop in Navalcarnero, 30 minutes from Madrid, and serving over 3,500 families across Spain.

Style: Dutch with marquetry (18th-century parlance)
Material: Walnut with light wood marquetry
Technique: Hand-cut floral marquetry; veneered on bombe front; carving
Finish: Varnished, marquetry visible in light/dark contrast
Hardware: Bronze pulls and keyholes; escutcheons
Layout: Drop-front bureau with interior fitted with small drawers, pigeonholes, turned columns, and central door; three bombe drawers below
Legs: Carved claw feet
Dimensions: 130 cm (Width) × 61 cm (Depth) × 102 cm (Height)
Condition: Restored. Marquetry secured, top and drawers adjusted, hardware cleaned
Period: Mid-20th century

130 cm (Width) × 61 cm (Depth) × 102 cm (Height)

Free shipping to mainland Spain. Includes delivery inside your home with removal of packaging.