Illustrated FURNITURE Glossary
Sheraton style gentleman's secretary-and-bookcase
Attributed to Nehemiah Adams
Salem, Massachusetts, 1800-1810
On display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2004
TEXT Beneath Illustration
One of only about a dozen known examples attributed to Adams (active c. 1790-1840), this piece shows great unity of design, which is achieved through the rhythmic use of ellipses -- a favorite Neoclassical shape -- in the panels of the cabinet base. The ellipses are echoed in the mullions of the glazed upper bookcase doors.
The form of this gentleman's secretary-and-bookcase is derived from plate 52 of Thomas Sheraton's The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (London, 1793).
