Writing desk - Wood - Bow-front bureau bookcase

Desk with raised cabinet / bureau-bookcase in mahogany - George III / Georgian Revival, England, c. 1900–1920.

Object: desk with raised cabinet / bureau-bookcase
Origin: England, United Kingdom
Era: early 20th century
Dating: c. 1900–1920
Style: George III Revival / Georgian Revival
Material: mahogany, solid and/or veneered depending on the elements; brass hardware; glass
Dimensions: 205 × 87 × 45 cm

English desk with raised cabinet, executed in mahogany, inspired by George III, composed of two units.

The lower body features a slightly bow-front facade, with three full-width drawers in stacked arrangement, topped by two smaller drawers side by side. The fronts are molded and equipped with pendant pulls and bronze-toned metal lock escutcheons.

It rests on a molded base ending in bracket-foot-type feet.

Above the drawers there is a large inclined fall-front, lockable. When opened it becomes a writing surface and reveals a compartmented interior, equipped with four small niches or pigeonholes and four small drawers, originally intended for organizing correspondence and documents.

The upper part consists of a two-door glazed bookcase cabinet, with geometric astragals forming a diamond and polygon composition. The interior is designed for placing shelves for books or objects.

The façade culminates in a characteristic broken pediment with a swan-neck break — broken swan-neck pediment, with two large symmetrical volutes and a central turned pinnacle.

This combination is absolutely typical of the repertoire of Georgian bureau-bookcases and quality reproductions from the Edwardian/George III Revival period.

The pediment is important - The upper crest is one of the elements most helpful in identifying the style. The swan-neck pediment widely appeared in 18th-century English furniture and was revived very intensively in late 19th- and early 20th-century English reproductions. The broken pediment, the astragal-with-doors front, and the bureau+bookcase combination clearly reference mature Georgian models.

Condition: Normal signs of use, scratches, abrasions, small dents, edge wear and finish wear. With significant damage to the upper pediment (breaks and cracks in the pediment, areas glued).