Description
A superb and imposing example of late 18th-century New England cabinetmaking, this American Chippendale secretary bookcase in warm, luminous figured cherry represents the very pinnacle of colonial American craftsmanship. Standing tall on bold bracket feet with ogee scrolled returns, this two-part case piece commands attention from every angle.
The upper bookcase section is surmounted by an elegant broken swan-neck pediment with large rosette terminals and a central plinth supporting a fine brass American eagle finial โ a patriotic and distinctly Federal-era touch that speaks to the transitional moment in which this piece was made. The upper case opens to reveal two large paneled cupboard doors concealing a fitted interior with a full-width shelf above a bank of vertical document dividers and small storage compartments โ perfectly organized for a gentleman’s correspondence and papers.
The middle section features a slant-front fall that opens to expose an exceptionally well-fitted interior with a symmetrical arrangement of shaped cubbyholes, document slots, and a bank of small working drawers with turned wooden pulls โ a beautifully functional writing surface with everything a colonial gentleman of business could require.
The lower case presents four graduating drawers of generous proportion, each fitted with original pierced and shaped Chippendale bail brass hardware with elaborately cut backlates โ as seen in the detail photograph, these are of exceptional quality and bold design. The warm, even honey-gold tone of the cherry wood, developed over nearly 250 years, gives this piece an incomparable depth and patina.
Key Features:
- Circa 1780, New England origin
- Primary wood: figured cherry
- Broken swan-neck pediment with rosette terminals
- Brass American eagle finial
- Fitted upper bookcase interior
- Slant-front secretary with fully fitted interior
- Four graduating drawers with original Chippendale bail brasses
- Bracket feet with ogee scrolled returns
- Condition: good, consistent with age, some minor loss to edge trim on left side of top (see photo)
A rare opportunity to acquire a truly distinguished piece of American furniture history.
Dimensions: 87″H x 41″W x 20″D
