A table entirely made by Johann Christian Neuber was presented in 1781 by Friedrich Augustus III to Louis Auguste de Breteuil, Baron de Breteuil (1730–1807), a French diplomat, as recognition for the role he had played in the negotiation of the Treaty of Teschen, which officially ended the War of Bavarian Succession. The Breteuil Table is regarded as one of the most extraordinary pieces of eighteenth-century furniture ever made, distinguished not only by the materials used in its construction but also for the remarkable skill of its creator.
The table has a mosaic top inlaid with 128 gemstones and decorated with five Meissen porcelain plaques depicting scenes that celebrate peace and the glory of the Baron de Breteuil. Still owned by the family that received it nearly 250 years ago, this stunning object has rarely been exhibited outside the Château de Breteuil (some twenty-five miles west of Paris) and has never before crossed the Atlantic. For the table's design, Neuber enlarged a Steinkabinettabatiere (stone cabinet snuffbox) nearly ten times. As he did with the boxes, he compiled a written document of the stones he used.
An iPad application and the related Web site reproduces the manuscript and provides information on each stone in the table.
View Archived Neuber App or the Internet Archive version of the iPad application
