The top is surmounted by white statuary marble. The drop front, the doors below and the upper and lower sections of each side are all veneered with panels of black and gold Japanese lacquer.

Provenance:

There is an 18th Century inventory number stamped repeatedly on the secretaire. This however, has not yet been identified. There is a label under the marble top which bears the name Harcourt in manuscript. This refers to the English family of Harcourt who have lived at Nuneham Park and Stanton Harcourt, Oxford, since the early 13th Century. They were a branch of the French Harcourt family and they became one of the more distinguished families in English life. Their collections of French furniture both in Oxfordshire and in London were renowned.