Cylinder Desk and Bookcase
1800–10
Medium
Mahogany and white pine, with mahogany, birch, and maple veneers
Dimensions
196.8 × 91.2 × 55.9 cm (78 1/2 × 35 7/8 × 22 in.)
Classification
desk
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
6471
Art Historical Context
This elegant Cylinder Desk and Bookcase, crafted around 1800–1810, exemplifies early American furniture from the Federal period. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts the Americas department, it stands at an impressive 196.8 × 91.2 × 55.9 cm, designed as a multifunctional piece that combines a writing desk with open shelving for books. Its tambour—or cylinder—top, a clever sliding panel of segmented wood slats, allowed users to conceal contents neatly while maximizing space in genteel homes or studies. Constructed primarily from mahogany and white pine, with veneers of mahogany, birch...