Another Matched Set for the Getty

The Getty Museum has acquired an 18th-century desk organizer — originally made to sit atop a small, ornate desk long in the museum's collection. The brass, tortoiseshell, and mother of pearl-veneered ensemble was made in Paris around 1710 for Maximilian II Emanuel, exiled Elector of Bavaria. Dealers often separate pieces that were meant to be together, and museums occasionally manage to reunite them. In this case, it's not hard to guess why some dealer separated the two pieces. The new find, a footed set of small compartments for papers or writing implements, obscures the desk's exuberantly pictorial top (below). Desk and top are now displayed together in the Getty's Place Vendome library period room.