Images(10)

Sugar Desk

Date1800-1815

OriginAmerica, Kentucky, Mason County

MediumBlack walnut, tulip poplar, cherry, holly and maple

DimensionsOverall: 101.3 x 90.8 x 45.7cm (39 7/8 x 35 3/4 x 18in. closed)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Sara and Fred Hoyt Furniture Fund, TIF Foundation in memory of Michelle A. Iverson, Charles W. and Leslie M. Cantwell Memorial Fund, The Antique Collectors’ Guild, Nancy and Doug McFarland, and The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2014-197

DescriptionAppearance:
Slant front desk with hinged writing/preparation surface supported by lopers when open; interior of desk has bank of small drawers at rear with three small drawers over two longer drawers all inlaid with lightwood stringing in rectangle around perimeter of drawer fronts; double bead on edges of drawers dividers; interior desk surface slides back under bank of drawers to reveal large cavity; long drawer under desk cavity is accessed from front of desk; scalloped front and side skirts; squared cabriole legs; front of desk, fall front, long drawer and skirt is ornamented with compass drawn lightwood stringing, heart vine inlay, stars, and banding around front and sides of base; original locks on fall front and large drawer; original pulls on interior drawers; replaced pulls on large drawer.

Construction:
Top is half blind dovetailed to sides; bottom composed of two walnut boards with space between them half-blind dovetailed to sides, one at front and one at rear; front is a single wide board with tongues on each side in grooves in case sides; grooves run entire height of case sides; triangular blocks glued to front of case side at bottom of slanted portion; fall board formed of a single board with tongue and groove joined batten ends, molded on top and sides; fall board hinged with two replaced butt hinges to front of desk; sliding lid for interior desk cavity in dado in case sides; dividers for small interior desk drawers in dadoes in case sides, top, and each other; tulip poplar stop blocks glued at back of case in interior drawer cavities; lopers supported by L shaped runner/guides about 6" long nailed to the case sides; dowels (replaced) tenoned into sides of lopers as stops; bottom of desk cavity is a single tulip poplar board set into dados in the case sides; small segmented tulip poplar glue blocks glued to underside of bottom and back of overhanging desk front; large drawer supported by desk bottom boards and a runner that spans the space between the two boards; runner is not attached to case sides; runner probably glued to edges of bottom boards and to long glue block below bottom boards that joins desk to frame (see description for glue block below); two rectangular stop blocks (proper left replaced) nailed to top of bottom board near front; evidence on drawer bottom of possible third (now missing) stop block in center.

Frame formed by rails mortised and tenoned into tops of cabriole legs; top edge of frame inlaid with patterned banding around front and sides; additional board butt joined to front skirt center drop to add height to that element; frame screwed to bottom of desk with screws in screw pockets in the rear of the back skirt and inside the front and side skirt; segmented glue blocks join frame to bottom boards along front and rear skirts; single long glue blocks (mentioned above) join sides of frame to bottom boards and drawer runners.

Drawers all of standard dovetail construction; side to side single board bottom boards are chamfered around front and sides and in dados front and sides and nailed to bottom edges of drawer backs; small drawers have small rectangular glue blocks with chamfered inner corner glued to sides at back of bottom; large drawer has three segmented glue blocks along sides of bottom, back most glue block with chamfered inner corner; large drawer has cock bead nailed in rabbet around drawer front.

Label TextWhite sugar was an expensive commodity in areas accessed by the Mississippi River in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Grown and processed in the West Indies, sugar was shipped up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers from New Orleans to areas of Kentucky and Tennessee. Before the advent of steamboats, the river trade brought commodities like sugar once a year, in the Springtime. Wealthy consumers purchased enough sugar to last the year and stored it in specialized furniture forms including sugar chests, sugar desks, and sugar bureaus. These storage forms typically had a large interior space that was often subdivided for the storage of white sugar, brown sugar, and sometimes coffee. Sugar chests were the most common of these forms. Sugar desks like this one were less common and were produced primarily in Kentucky. Examples range in size from miniature table top versions to almost full size desks. This example is one of the most highly ornamented known. When the slanted lid is open, this sugar desk has a few small drawers in the upper section with a sliding lid below to access the main desk area where the sugar was stored. Whether the sugar desk was originally used as a writing desk as well as a sugar storage form is not known. Ink stains indicate that it was used as a traditional desk at some point in its history.

This example was produced in Mason County, Kentucky where a number of chests of drawers with related scalloped skirts and short, square cabriole legs were also made. Those short legs relate quite closely and were probably influenced by the feet of the same form found on Louisiana armoires. Knowledge of furniture styles and forms traveled up the Mississippi River along with the sugar.

InscribedLarge exterior drawer - chalk mark inside back board.
Small drawers: "1", "2", and "3" in pencil inside back boards
Small drawers: "1" and "2" in chalk on bottom boards
Large interior drawers "1" and "2" in chalk on bottom boards

On #2 small drawer bottom, various names of Hollywood and film producers, actors, etc. and dates inscribed in ink in same hand in very stylized, segmented manner. San Francisco also mentioned. Names include: Louie B. Mayer, Irene Pavloska, Cheiro (William John Warner), Larry Tibbett, Myron and David Selznick, S. Grauman (Sidney), Sam Goldwyn. Dates include 1910, 1912, 1919, 1920, 1921.
ProvenanceVendor recalls that the sugar desk came into his family from the family of Irwin Nigh Lee (1882-1973) who married Frances Bassett (1888-1973) in 1915. It may have been a wedding gift. Irwin Lee was from Maysville, Kentucky (but was living in Lexington, Kentucky in 1918 according to his WWI draft card). Irwin Lee's sister Alice Lee Warbun may have been an antique collector.

Additional label:
Grown in the West Indies, sugar was shipped up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers from New Orleans to Kentucky and Tennessee once a year. Wealthier consumers there purchased enough to last the year and stored it in specialized furniture forms, including sugar chests and sugar desks. These forms featured a large interior space often subdivided for white and brown sugar and sometimes coffee. Sugar desks, less common than chests, were produced mainly in Kentucky. This example is one of the most highly ornamented known. Its scalloped skirt and short, square cabriole legs relate closely to those on French-inspired Louisiana furniture. Knowledge of French furniture styles likely traveled up the Mississippi along with the sugar.