AMICA ID:
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CMA_.1990.96
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AMICA Library Year:
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1999
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Object Type:
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Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
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Creator Nationality:
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North American; American
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Creator Dates/Places:
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America, Massachusetts, Boston or vicinity, 18th c
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Creator Name-CRT:
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America, Massachusetts, Boston or vicinity, 18th century
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Title:
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Desk and Bookcase
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Title Type:
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Primary
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View:
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Full View
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Creation Date:
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c. 1780
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Creation Start Date:
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1775
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Creation End Date:
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1785
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Materials and Techniques:
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mahogany and pine, brass hardware, gilding
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Classification Term:
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Furniture
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Classification Term:
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Woodwork
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Dimensions:
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Overall: 241.9cm x 106cm x 56.5cm
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Cleveland Museum of Art
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Owner Location:
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Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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ID Number:
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1990.96
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Credit Line:
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Bequest of Mrs. Lawrence Hitchcock
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Rights:
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Provenance:
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Col. Christopher Toppan (1735-1818), Hampton, New Hamsphire; his son Edmund Toppan (1777-1857); his daughter Sarah Jane Parker Toppan (b. 1822) who married Rev. Samuel J. Spalding, Newburyport, Massachusetts; their granddaughter Helen Chapin Hitchcock (Mrs. Lawrence).
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Context:
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During the eighteenth century desks and bookcases were among the largest and most expensive pieces of furniture in a household. They were typically placed downstairs, in a back parlor or hall, and their owners were usually men of letters and accounts. These pieces consist of two parts: a lower division, usually a slant-top desk, and an upper cabinet that sits within moldings applied to the desk top. The upper cabinet often derives much of its inspiration from architectural forms.Like much New Englandfurniture of the later 1700s, the lower section of this piece is block-fronted, that is, it recedes in the center and protrudes at either side. Though some European precedents can be found for block fronting, it was clearly more popular on this side of the Atlantic.
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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CMA_.1990.96.tif
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