18th Century Bureau Plat Desk — French Polish & Leather Top

This exceptional 18th century bureau plat arrived at our Manhattan workshop requiring French polish restoration and a full leather top replacement. The desk’s veneered surfaces had dulled over centuries of use, while the original tooled leather writing surface had deteriorated beyond repair.

Our conservators carefully stripped the existing finish and applied multiple coats of shellac using the traditional French polish technique — a painstaking process of building thin layers with a rubbing pad to achieve the deep, lustrous finish these desks originally carried. Every bronze ormolu mount was removed, cleaned, and repatinated before reinstallation.

The leather top was hand-cut from full-grain hide and tooled with period-appropriate gold leaf borders, matching the desk’s 18th century French aesthetic. The completed bureau plat now displays the rich warmth and refined elegance that define the finest examples of this form.