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Desk and Bookcase

ca. 1811
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 723
This H-shaped desk and bookcase may be the most unusual example of high-style furniture produced in the Federal period. Its design was inspired by the "Sister's Cylinder Bookcase," plate 38 in Thomas Sheraton's "Cabinet Dictionary" (London, 1803), but the maker substituted a rectangular fall-front desk between the two pedestals for Sheraton's cylindrical one. The decorative details are characteristic of fine Baltimore furniture. The double-line inlay spiraling down the turned legs can be found on at least one other piece of Baltimore furniture. The inscription refers to the date when Roswell Lyman Colt married Margaret Oliver, one of the four daughters of Robert Oliver, a millionaire merchant of Baltimore.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Desk and Bookcase
  • Date: ca. 1811
  • Geography: Made in Baltimore, Maryland, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Mahogany, satinwood, maple, verre églomisé
    with cedar
  • Dimensions: 91 x 72 x 19 1/8 in. (231.1 x 182.9 x 48.6 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage and various other donors, by exchange, 1969
  • Object Number: 69.203
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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Desk and bookcase, Mahogany, satinwood, holly, verre églomisé with cedar, pine, American
Desk and bookcase
American
1800–1810
Side Chair, John Finlay, Maple, American
Side Chair
John Finlay
Hugh Finlay
1815–20
Side Chair, Maple, ash, tulip poplar, American
Side Chair
American
1800–1810
Card Table, John Finlay, Maple, oak, tulip, American
Card Table
John Finlay
Hugh Finlay
1800–1810
Knife Urn, Mahogany, mahogany veneer, white pine, tulip poplar, American
Knife Urn
American
ca. 1820

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