Flap Front Desk

Charles II era flap-front desk, or scriptor, designed after a desk that is located at Ham House, a National Trust House in Richmond, England.

In the 1670's, Ham House contained the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale's outstanding collection of fine art, textiles and furniture. Today, this magnificent Stuart- period dwelling is considered the most complete survivor of that era's fashion and power.

CARCASE: Furniture historian Adam Bowett describes this ancient desk as "resembling an oriental lacquered cabinet . . . that inaugurates a new era of English cabinet-work, establishing many stylistic and structural conventions which held good for the next thirty years."

The scriptor with its flat, box-like facade, is nearly devoid of ornamentation. The carcase and drawer fronts of the scriptor are constructed of quartered oak and the frame-on-stand is made of deal. (Deal is furniture grade softwood; in this case Northern Spruce was used.)

The legs and drawer sides and bottoms are all made of walnut and the veneer on the entire case was exquisite burled elm.

The burled elm flap front and sides of the desk were inlaid with ebony lines and the carved elements on each of the carved and spiral-turned walnut legs were silvered with silver leaf.

DRAWER PULLS: Unique to the table are the drawer pulls. The originals were silver castings representing the green man, an ancient pagan symbol found in many cultures around the world. The desk has fourteen of these silver pulls in two different sizes.

I carved the face out of stone and then had the carvings scanned in order to make molds. Wax patterns were then constructed that were cast into sterling silver.

WOODS: Primary - Walnut; burled elm and ebony veneers; elm veneer for the herringbone inlay

Secondary - Quartered Oak, Deal, and elm veneers for cross banding. Frame on stand is Norfolk Spruce.

HARDWARE:
Drawer pulls:  Custom; Sterling silver by Steve Archangeli, Madison Heights, MI.
Locks and strap hinges - Ball and Ball.

OTHER: Silver leaf; Green Baize (Londonderry brass)

DATE: 2007-2009
WHERE CONSTRUCTED: Wing Lake, Bloomfield Hills, MI.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Dirk Bakker

PROVENANCE:

1. 2010 "The Green Man in the Dukes Closet", American Period Furniture, 7:32-35, Dec. 2010.