Bureau Bookcase
ca. 1810 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Transcribed from Green Catalogue
'Secretaire: Rosewood with satinwood stringing lines; mounts and enrichments of gilded brass. It is of oblong form and the top bound at the edges with a metal moulding, has curved corners projecting above terminal female figures of brass above moulded pilasters decorated with floral pendnats. Beneath the top is a secretaire drawer which has a falling front divided into two panels which are decorated with lion masks, festoons of foliahge and pendants. The interior is fitted with pigeon holes and three drawers lined with cedar. Below are cupboard doors with polygonal panel mouldings decorated with egg and tongue in brass and with rosettes in the corners. The cupboard is fitted with two shelves. Above the secretaire is a movable tier of three shelves with colums at the angles and latticework sides of gilt brass. The top shelf has a latticework gallery and at the front are two small female busts of bronze. The secretaire rests on turned feet carved with gadroon moulding.
'Secretaire: Rosewood with satinwood stringing lines; mounts and enrichments of gilded brass. It is of oblong form and the top bound at the edges with a metal moulding, has curved corners projecting above terminal female figures of brass above moulded pilasters decorated with floral pendnats. Beneath the top is a secretaire drawer which has a falling front divided into two panels which are decorated with lion masks, festoons of foliahge and pendants. The interior is fitted with pigeon holes and three drawers lined with cedar. Below are cupboard doors with polygonal panel mouldings decorated with egg and tongue in brass and with rosettes in the corners. The cupboard is fitted with two shelves. Above the secretaire is a movable tier of three shelves with colums at the angles and latticework sides of gilt brass. The top shelf has a latticework gallery and at the front are two small female busts of bronze. The secretaire rests on turned feet carved with gadroon moulding.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Rosewood and satinwood veneers, carved gilt wood details and gilt bronxe mounts |
| Brief description | Bureau Bookcase, ca. 1810, made by John McLean |
| Physical description | Transcribed from Green Catalogue 'Secretaire: Rosewood with satinwood stringing lines; mounts and enrichments of gilded brass. It is of oblong form and the top bound at the edges with a metal moulding, has curved corners projecting above terminal female figures of brass above moulded pilasters decorated with floral pendnats. Beneath the top is a secretaire drawer which has a falling front divided into two panels which are decorated with lion masks, festoons of foliahge and pendants. The interior is fitted with pigeon holes and three drawers lined with cedar. Below are cupboard doors with polygonal panel mouldings decorated with egg and tongue in brass and with rosettes in the corners. The cupboard is fitted with two shelves. Above the secretaire is a movable tier of three shelves with colums at the angles and latticework sides of gilt brass. The top shelf has a latticework gallery and at the front are two small female busts of bronze. The secretaire rests on turned feet carved with gadroon moulding. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Manufactured and Sold by / J. McLANE & SON, / Pancras Street, Tottenham Court-/ Road, and / 58, Upper Marylebone Street, / Portland Place. (Printed label stuck inside fourth pigeonhole from the right.) |
| Credit line | Purchased with funds from the Murray Collection |
| Object history | Purchased from Moss Harris & Sons, 44 New Oxford Street, London WC1, in May 1944 for £140 (Nominal File MA/1/H857 Harris M Sons). The Museum's interest in Regency furniture had only developed in the 1930s, so this was an important addition to a small, but growing, collection. |
| Historical context | Two secretaire cabinets of identical design, the first with oval panelled doors and the second with rectangular panelled doors, were included in the sale, Tom Devenish: The Collection, Sotheby's New York, 24th April 2008, lots 173 and 174.Another example, with oval panels in the doors, was in the sale, Dealing in Excellence A Celebration of Hotspur and Jeremy, Christie's London, 20th November 2008, lot 119.A fourth example, with rectangular panelled doors, was for sale at Mallett, New Bond Street, January 2009. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.10:3-1944 |
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| Record created | August 29, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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