Mechanical table. Culture: French, Paris. Dimensions: Overall: 28 1/2 × 30 3/4 × 19 in. (72.4 × 78.1 × 48.3 cm). Maker: Jean Henri Riesener (French, Gladbeck, North Rhine-Westphalia 1734-1806 Paris). Date: 1781.Described in an inventory of 1789 simply as a writing table, this wonderful piece offered its original owner, Marie-Antoinette, many more options than that. Made by Jean-Henri Riesener in 1781 for the queen's Grand Cabinet Intérieur at Versailles, the table is fitted with a mechanism that allows the top to slide back and, at the same time, the main drawer to move forward. The central compartment of the drawer encloses a velvetlined writing surface that can be ratcheted up to form a bookstand and reversed to show a mirror. The marquetry surface on top is richly embellished with a pattern of trelliswork enclosing rosettes frequently used by Riesener on furniture for Marie-Antoinette. The central medallion encloses a trophy with the attributes of Poetry and Literature and the Lati