Day 267 - Tambour desk
October 28, 2021 Gallery 730 functions largely as a passthrough, but it also contains a few notable pieces of Federal-period furniture: chairs, marble-topped tables, a large cabinet, and two "tambour desks." A tambour desk, Wikipedia tells me, is a desk topped by small drawers that are concealed by reeded or slatted shutters - "tambours" - that usually retract into the sides of the desk. One of these desks is today's object. Made in New Bedford around 1805 and measuring about 52 inches high, 48 inches wide, and 24 inches deep, the desk is distinguished by its elaborate inlaid designs, which take advantage of the beautiful grains of the various woods of which it's constructed. The placard makes special note of walnut, maple, and birch veneers, but I recognize rosewood, too, and still other woods include tropical hardwoods and white pine. Inlays are everywhere and include not only large geometric shapes (rectangles, an oval, a hexagon) but also very fine