Images(4)

Slant Front Desk

Period1765 - 1780

MediumMahogany, mahogany veneer, tulip poplar, and pine

Dimensions44 × 46.75 × 23.5 in. (111.8 × 118.7 × 59.7 cm)

InscribedChalked inscription on the side of the small central drawer reads in part "Finally A ---"

ClassificationsStorage Furniture

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Samuel Riker, Miss Caroline C. Haynes, and Miss Louise de F. Haynes, 1944

Object number1934

DescriptionA hinged slant front panel opens and rests atop a pair of lopers which flank the shallow top drawer of this sturdy mahogany desk. Three full-sized graduated drawers with thumbnail molded edges are below, fitted with round brass escutcheons and pairs of brass bail handles with round backplates. The piece features massive claw and ball front feet and ogee bracket rear feet with a bold gadrooned front skirt. On the interior, a pair of fretwork columns frame the prospect door, which is flanked on either side by four pigeonholes with scalloped valances and two tiers of pairs of small drawers. The fall front of the desk plus all of the brasses have been replaced.
Curatorial RemarksCharacteristic of Chippendale-style furniture made in the New York City region are the combination of massive carved block-shaped claw feet in the front and ogee bracket feet in the rear, gadrooning on the skirt, the fretwork columns framing the prospect door, the arrangement of the interior, and the large size of the desk. It should be pointed out that the gadrooning is similar also to Philadelphia work. Although often associated with furniture makers in New York City, desks of this type are known to have been produced in Newark and Trenton, New Jersey.NotesThe earliest known owner of the desk was Henry Stephen Washington (1867 - 1934) a longtime resident of Locust, Monmouth County, who became renowned for his geological studies and classifications of igneous rocks. Purchased by Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, the desk was placed on loan to the Association on 30 October 1931, ten days after its new museum in Freehold opened to the public. Loan records provided the following information about the piece, "Slope top desk. Mahogany. From the Harry Washington House on Navesink River." It remained with the organization until returned to the Haskell estate on 6 March 1944. The desk was accordingly sold by Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York as part of the Haskell Collection on 18 May 1944, Part II, lot 390, realizing $450.00. The catalog did not mention its Harry Washington provenance. The large piece was bought in by the Association and returned to it as a gift by Mrs. Samuel Riker, Miss Caroline C. Haynes, and Miss Louise de F. Haynes.

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