With the turn of a key in the small hole in the table's side, the top automatically slides back and the drawer below opens, revealing lidded compartments and a book rest. The mechanism is activated by interior springs, which are tightened by winding another key. Learn more about this object in the J. Paul Getty Museum’s collection.

Cabinetmaker to the King, Jean-François Oeben is credited with having reintroduced naturalistic floral marquetry, which had fallen out of fashion. He produced furniture for the most fashionable members of the aristocracy and was patronized by Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's mistress. Learn more about Oeben.

Throughout the 1700s in France, the making of furniture was an elaborate process involving a variety of craftsmen, from the cabinetmaker to the bronze founder to the finisher. The environment of these Parisian artisans, their training, neighborhoods, design sources, and patrons all combined to influence the final products. Learn how a table such as this one was made.

J. Paul Getty acquired the Oeben mechanical table in 1949. He wrote about its arrival at his home in Malibu in his diary on December 31, 1949. The mechanical table was partly open when unpacked. I succeeded in closing it but couldn’t get it to open by turning the key. Possibly I had wound it too tight. Then I couldn’t get the key to turn. Mitchell said it was a great table. There are about 15 in the world, about 5 in America..... Go to the last page of this journal to read Getty's diary entry on the table.

The early Museum was located in Getty's private Malibu residence known as "the Ranch House." The table was displayed in the "Louis XV Room." See a photograph of the Oeben table in Getty Ranch House galleries.