Giovanni Battista Galletti (active from 1777 to 1789)
Secretary desk
inlaid and painted wood, gilded bronze, marble top,c. 1784
The King’s Bath Chamber

This exquisitely fashioned desk presents the interlaced VA monogram surmounted by a crown of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia, father of Charles Felix, in the centre of the lid. Giovanni Battista Galletti, cabinetmaker to the House of Savoy, used precious walnut, cedar and maple wood to create a splendid desk modelled on the French secrétaire. The inlaid flowers that run along the edges of the desk as part of its naturalistic decoration are delicately retouched with coloured ink. The thin slab of marble placed on top of the upper section has a railing of gilded bronze with the wave motif typical of the closing decades of 18th century.