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Desk and Bookcase

A work made of walnut and white pine.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of walnut and white pine.

Date:

1700–35

Artist:

Artist unknown (American, 18th century)
Boston

About this artwork

Pieces such as this desk and bookcase were multifunctional practical storage units used in the management of business and personal affairs. Most of the compartments on this desk have locks in order to safeguard the household possessions. The larger drawers of the desk held expensive linens and other textiles, while the small drawers on the interior of the desk section held everything from one’s personal papers, money, and jewelry to shoe buckles and snuff boxes. In a time when the modern idea of banks did not exist, a locking desk was the safest place for one’s valuables.

Status

On View, Gallery 166

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Artist unknown

Title

Desk and Bookcase

Place

Boston (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

c. 1700–1735

Medium

Walnut and white pine

Dimensions

228.6 × 104.1 × 61.3 cm (90 × 65 1/8 × in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the Mr. and Mrs. William Y. Hutchinson Fund

Reference Number

1985.517

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/104355/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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