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Secrétaire à abattant
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Fall Front Secretary
Secrétaire à abattant
Attributed to: Jean-Ferdinand Schwerdfeger (French, active 1760–1798)
French (Paris)
about 1788
Object Place: Europe, Paris, France
Medium/Technique
Oak and mahogany, gilt-bronze, brass, white marble
Dimensions
140.3 x 84.4 cm (55 1/4 x 33 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Swan Collection—Bequest of Marianne S. Rodgers
Accession Number1979.484
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsFurniture – Case furniture and boxes
This desk and the matching chest of drawers at the opposite end of this gallery were probably made for Marie-Antoinette’s Trellis Bedchamber in the Petit Trianon, her private residence near Versailles. The unique, gilt-bronze mounts imitating basketwork harmonize with other furnishings ordered by the queen for this elegant, garden-like room. Carved on this seat furniture and wall paneling were roses, jasmine, wheat sheaves, and basketry, all painted in naturalistic colors. Little is known about Schwerdfeger, except for the exquisitely crafted furniture, like this desk, which he supplied to the queen.
DescriptionDrop front secretary, central panel flanked by veneered columns, gilt bronze capitals. Interior: six open sections, two groups of three small drawers. Locking drawer within frieze of gilt bronze sunflowers
ProvenancePossibly part of furnishings made for Marie-Antoinette's Trellis Bedchamber at the Petit Trianon, near Paris [see note 1]. 1794-1796, probably acquired in Paris by James Swan, Boston, MA [see note 2]; after 1796, with his wife, Hepzibah Clark Swan (d. 1825), Dorchester, MA; 1825, after her death, by inheritance to one of her three daughters [see note 3], and eventually inherited by a descendant, Mrs. Marianne S. Rogers, Savanah, GA (d. 1979); 1979, bequest of Mrs. Marianne S. Rogers. (Accession date: October 17, 1979)
NOTES:
[1] Several hypotheses concerning the early provenance of this fall front secretary, along with a chest of drawers (MFA 60.242) are provided by Jeffrey Munger in "Royal French Furniture in 18th Century Boston," p. 121-124. [2] James Swan was a merchant established in Paris, and was appointed an official agent for the purchase of supplies in the United States in 1794 by the French Government. His partner was Johann-Caspar Schweizer, a Swiss. According to Howard Rice, the French Government placed at his disposal luxury goods to be exchanged in America for food supplies and war materials. The Swan and Schweizer agency shipped these articles to the United States between 1794-1795, where much of it was sold. However, this piece was among those that Swan kept for his personal use. See H. Rice "James Swan, Agent of the French Republic 1794-1796" The New England Quarterly, Vol. X, No. 3, Sept. 1937, p. 464-486. [3] The three daughters of James and Hepzibah Swan were Mrs. John T. Sargent, Mrs. William Sullivan, and Mrs. John C. Howard, all of Boston, MA.
NOTES:
[1] Several hypotheses concerning the early provenance of this fall front secretary, along with a chest of drawers (MFA 60.242) are provided by Jeffrey Munger in "Royal French Furniture in 18th Century Boston," p. 121-124. [2] James Swan was a merchant established in Paris, and was appointed an official agent for the purchase of supplies in the United States in 1794 by the French Government. His partner was Johann-Caspar Schweizer, a Swiss. According to Howard Rice, the French Government placed at his disposal luxury goods to be exchanged in America for food supplies and war materials. The Swan and Schweizer agency shipped these articles to the United States between 1794-1795, where much of it was sold. However, this piece was among those that Swan kept for his personal use. See H. Rice "James Swan, Agent of the French Republic 1794-1796" The New England Quarterly, Vol. X, No. 3, Sept. 1937, p. 464-486. [3] The three daughters of James and Hepzibah Swan were Mrs. John T. Sargent, Mrs. William Sullivan, and Mrs. John C. Howard, all of Boston, MA.