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Secretary (sécretaire à abattant)

ca. 1815–20 with later additions
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 554
The unidentified coat of arms of this Biedermeier secrétaire, with its wooden columns and slats resembling the pipes of an organ, is a later embellishment.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Secretary (sécretaire à abattant)
  • Date: ca. 1815–20 with later additions
  • Culture: Austrian
  • Medium: Walnut, parcel-ebonized and mounted with gilt bronze; leather, glass, brass
  • Dimensions: 105 x 37 x 21 in. (266.7 x 94 x 53.3 cm)
  • Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Frederich R. Koch, 1991
  • Object Number: 1991.470
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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Vase, Blown aventurine overlay glass, American
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Drop-front secretary (secrétaire à abattant or secrétaire en armoire), Guillaume Benneman, Oak veneered with tulipwood, kingwood, holly partly stained green, ebony, and mahogany; brèche d'Alep marble (not original); modern leather; gilt-bronze mounts, French, Paris
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