Tambour desk
Thomas Seymour
(American (born in England), 1771–1848)
John Seymour
(American (born in England), 1738–1818)
1804–10
Object PlaceBoston, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/TechniqueMahogany, curly satinwood, purpleheart door reed veneers, soft maple, cherry, white pine, and brass with original blue paper lining inside large drawers
Dimensions123.82 x 91.44 x 54.29 cm (48 3/4 x 36 x 21 3/8 in.)
Credit LineThe M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts
Accession number39.225
On View
On viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
Considered among the most refined and sophisticated of all the tambour desks produced by the Seymours, this piece is remarkable for its fine proportions, intricate veneers of imported woods, and restrained simplicity. It descended in the Amory and Codman families and may have been owned originally by John Amory, the Seymour's landlord and patron.
ProvenanceAmory and Codman families, first owner: John Armory; lent by Miss Martha C. Codman, May 26, 1921; later incorporated into the "The M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts."
