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 finely marquetried  strips that outline and further define these forms. An interior label  bears the cabinet-maker's name,  Reuben Swift, and place of business ("Head of Acushnet River, New Bedford, Mass.") and notes that he makes "cabinet furniture/in all its Varied Branches/Manufactured with Neatness and Dispatch." Given the amount of workmanship involved, it's hard to imagine that this piece was made with dispatch,  but Swift must have taken great pride in his creation.


A couple about my age passes, and I hear her say that people who like modern furniture wouldn't appreciate this piece. I think she's wrong- I prefer modern furniture for myself, but I admire the craftsmanship of the desk, and especially Swift's apparent respect and even love for the natural beauty of the wood. 

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