Desk and Bookcase
Artist unknown
1700–35
Medium
Walnut and white pine
Dimensions
228.6 × 104.1 × 61.3 cm (90 × 65 1/8 × in.)
Classification
desk
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
104355
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Pieces such as this desk and bookcase were multifunctional practical storage units used in the management of business and personal affairs. Most of the compartments on this desk have locks in order to safeguard the household possessions. The larger drawers of the desk held expensive linens and other textiles, while the small drawers on the interior of the desk section held everything from one’s personal papers, money, and jewelry to shoe buckles and snuff boxes. In a time when the modern idea of...