Toilet Table for Empress Marie Louise
Placed in the Grand Trianon for use by Napoleon's Second Wife
The toilet table shown above was made for Empress Marie Louise in 1809. It was purchased from the marchand Antione-Thibaut Baudouin for the bedroom of the Imperatrice in the Grand Trianion. It is now on display at Versailles (see The Furniture of Versaille, Editions Faton, 2009). The chosen wood is frene (burl ash), perhaps because of the embargo put in place by the British, but more likely due to personal taste of the Imperatrice (the entire bedroom suite is in frene, but other mahogany furniture was purchased that year for other rooms). The sconces on the mirror supports are not original - they are circa 1837 replacements by the celebrated bronze worker Thomire. They were replaced to match those on another piece of furniture being delivered that year.
I purchased the table pictured on the right (or below for an ipad) from Echos Antique Auction in New York in 2017. It was described as a burled, French Empire, marble-topped vanity. The mounts on the Echo's table are identical to those on the table in Versailles, with the exception of the replaced sconces. Without stretching logic to far, I think it is safe to say that the copy I purchased was made prior to 1837, or the table would have come with the replacement Thomire sconces. It also leads me to wonder if the sconces on the copy are, in fact, the model sconces that were originally installed on the table. I hope, when the museum of Decorative Arts re-opens, I can investigate this theory.A similar dressing table is in the collection of the Getty Museum. It was made with a flat marble top rather than recessed and has no attached sconces.
