id:			155661
accession number:	1990.96.b
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1990.96.b
updated:		2019-11-25 09:12:07.925000

Desk and Bookcase (bookcase), c. 1780. America, Massachusetts, Boston or vicinity, 18th century. Mahogany and pine, brass hardware, gilding; overall: 241.9 x 106 x 56.5 cm (95 1/4 x 41 3/4 x 22 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mrs. Lawrence Hitchcock 1990.96.b

title:				Desk and Bookcase (bookcase)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1780
creation date earliest:		1775
creation date latest:		1785
current location:		
creditline:			Bequest of Mrs. Lawrence Hitchcock
copyright:			

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culture:	America, Massachusetts, Boston or vicinity, 18th century
technique:	mahogany and pine, brass hardware, gilding
department:	Decorative Art and Design
collection:	Furniture
type:		Furniture and woodwork
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 241.9 x 106 x 56.5 cm (95 1/4 x 41 3/4 x 22 1/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Col. Christopher Toppan (1735-1818), Hampton, New Hamsphire; his son Edmund Toppan (1777-1857); his daughter Sarah Jane Parker Toppan (b. 1822) who married Rev. Samuel J. Spalding, Newburyport, Massachusetts; their granddaughter Helen Chapin Hitchcock (Mrs. Lawrence).
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
During the 18th century, desks and bookcases were among the largest and most expensive pieces of furniture in a household. Their owners were chiefly businessmen and community leaders, and they were usually placed downstairs in a back parlor or hall. These ensembles consisted of two parts: a lower division-usually a slant-top desk-and an upper cabinet that sat within moldings applied to the desktop. The form of the upper cabinet often included elements derived from contemporary architecture. Like much New England furniture of the later 1700s, the lower section of this example is block-fronted, that is, it recedes in the center and protrudes at either side. Though some European precedents can be found for block fronting, it was clearly more popular on this side of the Atlantic.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.96.b/1990.96.b_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.96.b/1990.96.b_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.96.b/1990.96.b_full.tif