Lady's cabinet and writing table

Date1794-1815

Possibly by Robert McKildoe

Possibly by John Alcock

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Richmond (possibly)

MediumMahogany, satinwood, yellow pine, birch, red cedar

DimensionsOH: 68"; OW: 41 3/4"; OD: 20 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2007-4

DescriptionAppearance: Lady's cabinet and writing desk. Lower case with one long drawer over a central arched kneehole flanked by two small drawers on each side; square tapered legs; hinged writing surface at top front of lower case; when open, writing surface flap rests on open long drawer; at rear of lower case is a cabinet secretary with small drawers and shelves and a flat front that rotates and slides into the case above the small drawers; two cabinets with hinged doors surmounted by domed tops with replaced acorn finials flank a central bookcase shelf with an ogee pediment all of which rest on top of the cabinet secretary; entire piece ornamented with triple and quintuple light and dark wood stringing outlining cabinet doors, drawers, bookshelves, and kneehole and ornamenting cabinet doors with ovals, secretary with geometric shapes, and legs with diamonds over ogival arched panels; bottom portions of legs ornamented with lightwood stringing, single pendant bellflowers, and lightwood cuffs with darkwood stringing.

CONSTRUCTION Lower Case: Mahogany case sides and white pine back board with a red wash are tenoned into each leg; mahogany with mahogany cross banded drawer dividers tenoned into the front legs and (middle and bottom dividers) tenoned into the mahogany vertical partition that forms the kneehole section of the desk; the first two inches of that partition are formed by a vertical mahogany board that is tenoned through the top drawer divider; a second horizontally grained mahogany board is tenoned into the back edge of the first and through the backboard of the case; the three through tenons on each board are wedged horizontally at the top and bottom, and vertically through the center of each top and bottom tenon (the vertical wedges appear to be later additions and may be yellow pine); replaced drawer supports nailed to outside of kneehole partition and to strips nailed to inside of case sides; two triangular mahogany boards joined with tongue and groove joint and with mitered mahogany veneer form each spandrel creating the arch of the kneehole; spandrels are backed by one horizontal and one vertical shaped glue blocks; drawers have standard dovetail construction; sides and backs of birch; fronts of mahogany with mahogany veneer outlined with quintuple light and dark stringing; red cedar bottoms (side to side grain) chamfered on three sides and slid into dados in front and sides, nailed to bottom of backboard; two c.5" blocks glued to bottom at middle of sides; Long drawer has a central side to side red cedar batten tenoned into the drawer sides with thumb locks at each end; writing surface affixed to front half of lower case top; desk hinges join folding section to stationary section of writing surface; an extra mahogany panel (not original) was screwed to the front of the backboard inside the kneehole section were an original? red wash was applied.

Middle case: sides, top, and mahogany bottom dovetailed together; back rabbeted around sides and top and slid into grooves in rear of case sides from bottom; red cedar shelves and partitions slid into grooves in case sides and bottom from back; front edges of partitions inlaid with light and dark wood stringing; front 1" of main shelf replaced; secretary drawers of red cedar, drawer fronts veneered with satinwood, constructed in same manner as lower case drawers but without nails along rear edge of bottom; original black wooden drawer pulls; Proper left bottom drawer partitioned to hold ink and pencils; shelf above uppermost drawers allows front of secretary to be recessed when open; secretary front has two batten ends and tiny brass castors to guide front as slides into case; screw pockets in lower edge of back allow secretary to be screwed to top of lower case backboard.

Upper case: Two cabinets flank central bookcase with ogee pediment; hinged mahogany cabinet doors with top and bottom batten ends veneered with mahogany outlined with stringing and ornamented with a large oval; central bookcase shelf through tenoned into sides of cabinets; back made up of three red cedar panels, rabbeted around edges and slid into grooves in the rear edges of the sides of the cabinets; central back veneered on front and inlaid with stringing conforming to shape of back panel; tops of cabinets have (originally four) glue blocks glued in an open square to hold domed lids in place; domed lids formed of eight triangular mahogany panels held together with light wood splines and dovetailed mahogany corner braces; domes veneered with mahogany; replaced acorn finials and plinths screwed to tops of domes.
InscribedPencil inscriptions on bottoms of three interior secretary drawers: "Lemon Peach" (also in chalk on underside of drawer bottom), "Early York," "Large Red Plums," and "Ross Seld" (?).
ProvenancePurchased at Christie's Sale January 18, 2007, Lot Number 631, Sale Number 1787.

In 1975, members of the Beverley family indicated to MESDA researchers that this piece had descended in the Page and Hobson families (Cumberland and Powhatan Counties). If this is the case, the most likely original owners of the piece are: Marianna F. Trent Page (1790-1877) or Mary Thomas Mumford Hobson (1783-1860) who were married respectively in 1808 and 1806 in Cumberland County. Probable history of descent from Joseph H. and Mary Thomas Mumford Hobson or John C. and Marianna F. Trent Page to Thomas Ludwell Hobson (1807-1852) and Virginia Randolph Page Hobson (1813-1911), to daughter Clara Hobson Nash (b.1848), to daughter Ellen Cary Nash Beverley (b. 1883), wife of Richard Carter Beverley (1880-1931) of Blandfield, to son William Nash Beverley (b.1907), to son John George Beverley (b.1941).