Prickett Desk 2011

The spandrel and bonnet above similarly reflect a sophistication and maturity of design and long-practiced cabinetmaker’s habit that is exceptional. The balance, symmetry and precision of the cornice molding design must have been worked out over a period of time, as the problems of construction and proportion are complicated and difficult. This contextual evidence suggest a craftsman at the peak of his career, having grappled over time with each and successfully evolved solutions which worked, and appealed to his clients. The relationship of the varying simple curves of the shell arches, S-shaped cornice moldings, pair of circular apertures with pinwheel terminals, together create perhaps the most rhythmically harmonious bonnet design on any group of Salem furniture. Its success as an iconic image of Salem furniture is the local equivalent of the better-known but equally beautiful version in Newport’s greatest tall-case furniture. Quite remarkable about all four secretaries is that their principal show surfaces all appear to be cut from the same log with spectacular figured mahogany of curving, markedly striped grain. All four desk lids have wood chosen so the grain falls in a gently drooping swag across the front, and may be consecutive boards cut from the same flitch. Similarly, arched panels in the doors appear to be from the same log, and cut consecutively, though this is less obvious on the Bybee Collection example, which may be the exception. The present example goes one step further, selecting wood with dramatically curving grain to follow around the radius of the arched upper door rails. In short, the cabinetmaker chose the most expensive mahogany and selected the finest grain, to maximize an effect that harmonized with his design. One feature stands out on the bookcase doors of this secretary and its analog at the Mead Art Museum. The arched upper door rails have curves on upper and lower edges that are not concentric, and the width of the rail is almost ¾ " greater at the top center than at the ends. Why, given the cabinetmaker’s advanced development of every other detail, are these curves mismatched? The answer appears to derive from the need to adapt his standard design and pattern dimensions to the height of the ceiling in the specific house the merchant-buyer lived in. The height of all four desks and bookcase units up to the bottom edge of the two upper incurvate shells is virtually identical. Yet the height of the bonnets differs. On the present example and the Mead Museum example, the height of the applied bolection frieze moldings is taller than on the other two secretaries, and not coincidentally, the taller moldings are paired with arched door rails, which have extended upper rail curves. Altering the rail width preserves the balance and proportions of the facade of the bonnet. Both secretaries also have the upper rear 15