Small oblong table. Culture: French, Paris. Dimensions: Overall: 26 3/4 × 17 1/4 × 12 3/4 in. (67.9 × 43.8 × 32.4 cm). Maker: Antoine-Mathieu Criaerd (French, 1724-1787). Date: ca. 1755-60.Small convenient tables provided with a writing slide and a drawer for writing implements were found in nearly every room of the mid-eighteenth-century home. This elegant piece is entirely framed by gilt-bronze moldings and has its original gilt-bronze receptacles for ink and sand. Books or papers could be placed on the shelf underneath, as can be seen in the well-known portrait of Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.