During the reign of Louis XVI (1771-1793) Greek vase painting together with Roman and Etruscan art constituted the source of inspiration to which designers of furniture, among others, looked back. In the Paris cabinetmakers' guild at this time there were - besides J. H. Riesener, who worked for the royal court - master-craftsmen such as L. Boudin, P. Migeon II, D. Toupillier, and J. L. F. Legry - all of whom are represented by works in the Budapest collection. Here we should like to present a "secrétaire" by the last-mentioned master-craftsman

In France the "secrétaire" was the type of writing cabinet characteristic of the second half of the 18th century. It developed as early as the reign of Louis XV, but only really spread during the age of Louis XVI. Its name comes from the French word for secretary; it was a piece of storage furniture that served writing activity and the orderly keeping of documents. The middle section supplied with a fold-down writing surface rests on a two-door cupboard. This middle part contains compartments and shelves suitable for the keeping of documents. Under the marble top there is a shallow drawer. On each of the doors of the piece can be seen - in an oval frame of flower garlands - one of Classicism's most characteristic decorative motifs, a covered urn. On the exterior of the writing top we see various floral and musical instrument still-life depictions, as well as trophies and garlanded, antique-type laurel leaves.

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