Drop-front secretary (Secrétaire en armoire)
Object type: Drop-front secretary
Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Culture: French, Paris
Artist: Jean Henri Riesener
Artist bio: French, Gladbeck, North Rhine-Westphalia 1734–1806 Paris
Artist role: Maker
Artist nationality: French
Date: 1783
Medium: Oak veneered with ebony and 17th-century Japanese lacquer; interiors veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, holly, and ebonized holly; gilt-bronze mounts; marble top; velvet (not original)
Dimensions: Overall: 57 × 43 × 16 in. (144.8 × 109.2 × 40.6 cm);
Length (key): 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm)
Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
Credit line: Bequest of William K. Vanderbilt, 1920
Accession year: 1920
Tags: Birds|Garlands