Secretary
John and Joseph W. Meeks American
Not on view
In the mid-nineteenth century traditional furniture forms were often updated with ornament referencing popular romantic styles. This cylinder-front secretary (or desk and bookcase) is embellished with Gothic Revival motifs such as pointed-arch windows and quatrefoils. Broad expanses of figured rosewood – which replaced mahogany as the preferred wood at the time – complete the decorative statement.
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