Tambour Desk
- Date
- 1804–10
- Classification
- Furniture
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 137
- Dimensions
- 48 1/4 x 37 5/8 x 21 1/2 in. (122.6 x 95.6 x 54.6 cm)
- Credit Line
- Funds given by Florence K. Imse in memory of Robert R. Imse, and Museum Shop Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 48:2005a,b
NOTES
Named for its flexible doors that open horizontally across the top, this tambour desk was intended for letter writing and other light work. The sliding doors were made from strips of wood backed with canvas. The desk’s simple function allowed a design of slender proportions, achieved by elevating it on long tapered legs. Contrasting patterns of light-colored satinwood and darker-toned woods like mahogany, rosewood, and purpleheart enliven the surface and lighten the mass of the desk's geometric volumes.
The desk’s design, construction methods, and numerous inscriptions identify its makers as the father and son cabinetmakers John and Thomas Seymour. John Seymour was born and trained as a furniture maker in the provincial city of Axminster, in southwestern England, before he immigrated to the United States with his family in 1784. When the Seymours opened their cabinetmaking shop in Boston in 1795, they established a new standard for stylish furniture made with exquisite craftsmanship.
Provenance
by 1946 - still in 1973
Mitchel (1889–1973) and Mary Taradash, New York, NY [1]
- 1989
Catherine Dolan, acquired from her sister, Mary Taradash
1989 - 1999
Israel Sack, Inc., New York, NY, purchased from Catherine Dolan
1999 - 2005
Richard R. Chilton, New York, NY (represented by Albert M. Sack), purchased from Israel Sack, Inc.
2005 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Richard R. Chilton, represented by Albert M. Sack [2]
Notes:
The main source for provenance information is an email from Albert Sack to David Conradsen, Saint Louis Art Museum, dated May 27, 2005 [SLAM document files]. Additional supporting documents are noted.
[1] Published in 1946 as being in the Taradash collection ["American Furniture in the Taradash Collection." "Antiques," Volume L, number 6, 1946, page 395; see also "Death Index Record," Ancestry.com, accessed January 19, 2006].
[2] Invoice dated May 23, 2005 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, June 30, 2005.
Mitchel (1889–1973) and Mary Taradash, New York, NY [1]
- 1989
Catherine Dolan, acquired from her sister, Mary Taradash
1989 - 1999
Israel Sack, Inc., New York, NY, purchased from Catherine Dolan
1999 - 2005
Richard R. Chilton, New York, NY (represented by Albert M. Sack), purchased from Israel Sack, Inc.
2005 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Richard R. Chilton, represented by Albert M. Sack [2]
Notes:
The main source for provenance information is an email from Albert Sack to David Conradsen, Saint Louis Art Museum, dated May 27, 2005 [SLAM document files]. Additional supporting documents are noted.
[1] Published in 1946 as being in the Taradash collection ["American Furniture in the Taradash Collection." "Antiques," Volume L, number 6, 1946, page 395; see also "Death Index Record," Ancestry.com, accessed January 19, 2006].
[2] Invoice dated May 23, 2005 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, June 30, 2005.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.