Harvard Art Museums > 205.1972: Bombé Secretary Desk Furniture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Bombé Secretary Desk (Attributed to Benjamin Frothingham, Jr.) , 205.1972,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/232203. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text Bombé secretary desks were immensely popular with ship captains and merchants in the 18th century. The 50 extant examples are all attributed to Boston-area workshops. Ledgers, ship logs, maps, bottles of spirits, and books were often kept in the pigeonholes and shelves in the upper cabinet, or case. Objects such as family papers, jewelry, money, writing implements, medicine, and spices would be kept in the nooks behind the hinged desk. Candles and textiles were the kinds of goods kept in the bombé (from the French verb meaning “to bulge”) drawers. There is strong visual evidence that the upper case—with its intricate finials, knotted-brass escutcheons, and hewn door panels in the Queen Anne style—is of an earlier joining than the Thomas Chippendale–inspired hinged desk and low drawers. Such “marriages” in case furniture were common during the second half of the 18th century, as younger generations wished to update family furniture to fit more restrained styles. Identification and Creation Object Number 205.1972 People Attributed to Benjamin Frothingham, Jr., American (1734 - 1809) Title Bombé Secretary Desk Classification Furniture Work Type desk Date c. 1760 Places Creation Place: North America, United States, Massachusetts, Boston Culture American Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/232203 Location Location Level 2, Room 2240, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, The Arts in the Eighteenth–Century Atlantic World View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Mahogany and white pine with brass mounts Dimensions 258.5 x 121.9 x 62.6 cm (101 3/4 x 48 x 24 5/8 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Loan from Harvard University Object Number 205.1972 Division European and American Art Contact am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Publication History Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), p. 211, cat. 243, ill. Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), ill. p. 123 Exhibition History 32Q: 2240 18th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/06/2024 - 01/01/2050 From the Andes to the Caribbean: American Art from the Spanish Empire, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/03/2023 - 07/30/2023 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
