In the collection ofArt Institute of Chicago
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Desk · Vienna
Fall-Front Desk
Vienna, Austria · Vienna · c. 1810
The inventive lyre shape of this secretary, surmounted by three stepped drawers and supported by griffins, identifies it as an elaborate, complex case form made in Vienna during the Napoleonic era. The upper half of the front falls forward to serve as a writing surface revealing interior compartments, drawers, and shelves. Its form has no direct source in antiquity, although the lyre shape and abundant decorative details—griffins, cornucopias, paw feet, and interior caryatid figures—are familiar classical motifs.
— Art Institute of Chicago, catalogue text
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