Small writing table ca. 1755-60 Antoine-Mathieu Criaerd 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 by Criaerd is entirely framed by gilt-bronze moldings and has kept its gilt-bronze receptacles for ink and sand needed for letter writing. Books or papers could be placed on the shelf underneath as can be seen on a related table in the well-known portrait of Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher of 1756 (Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung, Munich).. Small writing table 205793