Art Institute of Chicago

Desk and Bookcase

Artist unknown (American, 18th century)

Date

1750–70

Medium

Mahogany, red oak, and white pine

Culture

Boston

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This desk and bookcase is closely related to English furniture of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The naturalistic carving on the top of the bookcase section recalls English architectural carvings of the seventeenth century. Almost all brass fittings on 18th-century American furniture were imported from England or Europe. The original and distinctive brass hardware on this piece, however, may have been made in Boston by one of the few brass foundries known to operate in the colonies.

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