Ladies Writing Desk (c. 1750–75): Art, History and Details

Ladies Writing Desk (c. 1750–75) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

As early as the beginning of the 17th century, straw marquetry was being produced throughout Europe. Along with cabinetmakers and specialized artisans, creators of straw marquetry included home artisans, nuns, monks, and noble dilettantes. Thus the quality and design of objects using straw marquetry is quite diverse. While some pieces appear nearly naive, others are made very masterfully, such as with this ladies writing desk. Some of these objects were even presented in royal cabinets of wonder. Because of its silky gloss and bright colors, straw marquetry was held in great esteem as unusual and remarkable decoration for furniture and other objects on par with gemstones, tortoiseshell, or ivory.

Object facts

• Title: Ladies Writing Desk
• Date: c. 1750–75
• Culture: Possibly Northern Italy, near France
• Type: Furniture and woodwork
• Technique: Oak with straw marquetry
• Dimensions: Overall: 97.2 x 76.2 x 44.5 cm (38 1/4 x 30 x 17 1/2 in.)
• Collection: Furniture
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1942.40

A detail from the museum

The surface of this ladies writing desk is completely covered with straw marquetry decoration both outside and in.

Collection credit

Gift of Grace Rainey Rogers in memory of her father, William J. Rainey

Further reading listed by the museum

• Milliken, William. "The Rousseau de la Rottière Room the Gift of Grace Rainey Rogers." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 29, no. 4 (April 1942): 47-66
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.