SAPFM Museum Furniture Collection

Tambour Desk

John Seymour (American, 1738–1818)

Tambour Desk, John Seymour (American, 1738–1818), c. 1800, mahogany, brass and enamel pulls
Maker
John Seymour (American, 1738–1818)
Date
c. 1800
Medium
mahogany, brass and enamel pulls
Dimensions
Overall: 105.4 x 96 x 49.9 cm (41 1/2 x 37 13/16 x 19 5/8 in.)
Form
Desk
Origin
America
Culture
America, Boston, early 19th Century
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Accession
1987.11
Credit line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
The severely rectilinear form, delicate inlay, sliding tambour doors, and blue-painted interior of this small desk relate it to the work of the English-born cabinetmaker John Seymour and his son, Thomas, who were in partnership in Boston during the years around 1800. The Seymours made some of the most sophisticated American furniture in the Hepplewhite style, so-called from the Englishman whose publication of furniture designs was widely influential on both sides of the Atlantic.
Open in the interactive explorer ↗ View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗