Desk

Desk

Public Domain

Desk
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Desk
Datec. 1700–1730
Made inNewport, Rhode Island, United States
MediumBlack walnut, undetermined burl veneer, and eastern white pine; eastern white pine, black walnut, yellow-poplar, cherry, Cuban oyster wood (Gymnanthes lucida), and chestnut
DimensionsOpen: 41 1/4 × 36 1/4 × 33 3/8 in. (104.8 × 92.1 × 84.8 cm)
 Closed: 41 1/4 × 36 1/4 × 19 5/8 in. (104.8 × 92.1 × 49.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.69.42
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
106 Cameron Gallery
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionA variety of written communications were essential for wealthy colonial Americans to maintain family contacts and business relationships over long distances. Letters, orders, and financial instruments such as bills of exchange could take weeks to reach their destinations, making accurate record keeping essential. The slant-front writing desk, essentially a large box secured with dovetail joints holding smaller boxes—the drawers—which were built the same way, was a new furniture form at the turn of the 18th century. This desk’s sophisticated patterning of highly figured veneers is characteristic of an as-yet unidentified group of Rhode Island cabinetmakers.
Provenance[Collings and Collings, New York City]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, October 20, 1927; given to MFAH, prior to 1969.
Exhibition History"Art and Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 1650–1830," Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, August 19, 2016–January 8, 2017.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Two interlocked loops, in chalk, on underside of bottom board; "T" and [illegible], in chalk, on exterior of backboard; illegible graphite, on interior back and proper-right side of proper-right upper exterior drawer; letter [“S” with spiral tail?],” in graphite, on exterior back of upper exterior drawers; “1 [probably later],” in graphite, on exterior bottom of proper-left upper exterior drawer; letter [“S” with spiral tail?], C-scroll, and “B,” in graphite, on exterior back of upper exterior long drawer; illegible word and “Back,” in graphite, on interior back of bottom exterior drawer; graphite letter [including “SP”?], in graphite, on exterior back of exterior bottom drawer; “1” and “/,” in graphite, on exterior back of proper-right interior drawer; “2” and “/,” in graphite, on exterior back of second interior drawer from proper-right; “3” and “T,” in graphite, on exterior back of middle interior drawer; an arc, in graphite, on exterior proper-right side [in upper front corner] of middle interior drawer; “5,” in graphite, on exterior back of proper-left interior drawer; illegible inscription, in graphite, on exterior proper-left side of proper-left interior drawer; illegible graphite on exterior sides of interior document drawers; "x," incised, on interior front of interior drawer marked "2" and interior back of drawer marked "3"
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Étagère
John Henry Belter
Étagère
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; black walnut, mahogany, eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, undetermined exotic wood (possibly eucalyptus), marble, and mirrored glass
B.81.9.10
scan from file photograph
Desk-on-Frame
c. 1730–1800
Black walnut; yellow-poplar, red oak, Atlantic white cedar, chestnut, eastern white pine, and black walnut
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Card Table
Card Table
c. 1820–1830
Grained, painted, and gilded mahogany, and birch; mahogany veneer on eastern white pine with black walnut banding, ash, eastern white pine, cherry, and original brass casters
B.68.31
High Chest of Drawers
High Chest of Drawers
c. 1750–1780
Black-mangrove; black cherry, Atlantic white cedar, black walnut, yelow-poplar, and eastern white pine
B.69.64
scan from file photograph
Dressing Table
c. 1760–1800
Black walnut; red gum, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, southern yellow pine, and eastern white pine
B.69.527
Tall Clock
Edward Spalding
Tall Clock
c. 1765–1785
Mahogany; chestnut, white oak, black cherry, eastern white pine, southern yellow pine, and cherry
B.59.83
Desk and Bookcase
Desk and Bookcase
c. 1745–1780
Mahogany; mahogany, eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, and black cherry
B.69.363
Table
Table
c. 1700–1730
Black walnut; soft maple, chestnut, and eastern white pine
B.59.71
Dressing or Toilet Table
Dressing or Toilet Table
c. 1700–1725
Black walnut, walnut veneer, and aspen; eastern white pine
B.69.45
High Chest
High Chest
c. 1700–1725
Black walnut, burled walnut veneer, soft maple, and aspen; eastern white pine, hemlock, and birch
B.69.43
Desk and Bookcase
Edmund Townsend
Desk and Bookcase
c. 1765–1785
Mahogany; eastern white pine; chestnut; yellow poplar, and cedar
B.99.24
Sofa Table
Sofa Table
c. 1815–1825
Mahogany, mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, yellow poplar, cherry, and mahogany
B.71.106