The rounded sides are divided into eight sections, alternately adorned with four different Buddhist emblems and with hexagonal patterns. The bold decoration features two five-clawed dragons amidst clouds encircling a flaming pearl in the center. The interior of this large circular lacquered dish is inlaid with exquisite mother-of-pearl. When the Seymours opened their cabinetmaking shop in Boston in 1795, they established a new standard for stylish furniture made with exquisite craftsmanship. John Seymour was born and trained as a furniture maker in the provincial city of Axminster, in southwestern England, before he immigrated to the United States with his family in 1784. The desk’s design, construction methods, and numerous inscriptions identify its makers as the father and son cabinetmakers John and Thomas Seymour. Contrasting patterns of light-colored satinwood and darker-toned woods like mahogany, rosewood, and purpleheart enliven the surface and lighten the mass of the desk’s geometric volumes. The desk’s simple function allowed a design of slender proportions, achieved by elevating it on long tapered legs. The sliding doors were made from strips of wood backed with canvas.
Named for its flexible doors that open horizontally across the top, this tambour desk was intended for letter writing and other light work.
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