A Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted tulipwood, satinwood, barberry and holly writing table, circa 1770, stamped by Roger Vandercruse known as La Croix

Thierry de Maigret, Drouot, Paris, 5 june 2013, lot 236 (sold 36 000 €)

Related literature :

P. Kjellberg, Le mobilier français du XVIIIe siècle, Les Editions de l'Amateur, Paris, 1989, p. 757.

C. Roinet, Roger Vandercruse dit La Croix, Les Editions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000, p. 66.

Roger Vandercruse, known as Lacroix (1727-1799), cabinetmaker, received master in 1755.

He was one of the most influential cabinetmakers of the Transition period between the 1760s and the late 1770s. He specialized in small, often richly inlaid floral furniture, such as this writing table. From 1769 onward, through his colleague, the merchant Gilles Joubert, he was in charge of all court commissions, notably for the royal residences of the Countess of Provence and Madame Victoire.

This type of writing table is characteristic of Lacroix's work, as illustrated by C. Roinet in Roger Vandercruse dit Lacroix, Perrin & Fils, Paris 2000, fig. 24, p. 66. Several similar tables with similar shapes and decorations, stamped by RVLC, have been offered by Sotheby’s, including a writing table, sold in London on 3rd May 2018, lot 62 (sold £13,750) and another in London on 8th July 2008, lot 229.