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Guillaume Beneman

Drop-Front Secretary (Secrétaire à Abattant)

Now On View

Description

Maker

Guillaume Beneman (French, b. Germany, d. 1811), cabinetmaker

Title

Drop-Front Secretary (Secrétaire à Abattant)
Secrétaire à Abattant

Year

ca. 1800-1810

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

oak, brass (alloy), mahogany, marble, ormolu, leather

Geography

Place Made: France

Dimensions

143.5 x 114.3 x 42.6 cm (56 1/2 x 45 x 16 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Marks: Stamped in upper right case side, near top of main case: Guillaume Beneman

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund

Object Number

80.106

Type

Furniture

Exhibition History

European Galleries

Sep 02, 2017

Label copy

The restrained symmetrical form of this French secretary is embellished with mounts and ornamentation influenced by Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign. Figural supports wear headdresses known as nemes while lions and fairy-like figures in gilded bronze highlight expansive areas of mahogany. The secretary’s front panel opens to form a writing surface, revealing the interior’s drawers and shelves, while the lower doors conceal six drawers. This piece carries four stamps by Guillaume Beneman, who served as master cabinetmaker to the French crown from 1784 to 1792 and continued to work successfully after the French Revolution.

Intermission

Dec 16, 2016 – Jul 02, 2017

Dress, Art, and Society

1750-1890

Sep 13, 1996 – Jan 05, 1997

European Painting and Sculpture, circa 1770-1937

Oct 18, 1991 – Jan 26, 1992

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Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Guillaume Beneman (French, b. Germany, d. 1811), cabinetmaker

Drop-Front Secretary (Secrétaire à Abattant); Secrétaire à Abattant, ca. 1800-1810

Mahogany and oak with brass and gilded bronze mounts, embossed leather, marble top

143.5 x 114.3 x 42.6 cm (56 1/2 x 45 x 16 3/4 inches)

Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund 80.106

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