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Source Description
As early as the beginning of the 17th century, straw marquetry was being produced throughout Europe. Along with cabinetmakers and specialized artisans, creators of straw marquetry included home artisans, nuns, monks, and noble dilettantes. Thus the quality and design of objects using straw marquetry is quite diverse. While some pieces appear nearly naive, others are made very masterfully, such as with this ladies writing desk. Some of these objects were even presented in royal cabinets of wonder. Because of its silky gloss and bright colors, straw marquetry was held in great esteem as unusual and remarkable decoration for furniture and other objects on par with gemstones, tortoiseshell, or ivory.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
122107
label
Ladies Writing Desk
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
122107
contentType
object
title
Ladies Writing Desk
description
As early as the beginning of the 17th century, straw marquetry was being produced throughout Europe. Along with cabinetmakers and specialized artisans, creators of straw marquetry included home artisans, nuns, monks, and noble dilettantes. Thus the quality and design of objects using straw marquetry is quite diverse. While some pieces appear nearly naive, others are made very masterfully, such as with this ladies writing desk. Some of these objects were even presented in royal cabinets of wonder. Because of its silky gloss and bright colors, straw marquetry was held in great esteem as unusual and remarkable decoration for furniture and other objects on par with gemstones, tortoiseshell, or ivory.
date
c. 1750–75
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80018352
genreSpecific
Furniture and woodwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 97.2 x 76.2 x 44.5 cm (38 1/4 x 30 x 17 1/2 in.)
cul
Possibly Northern Italy, near France
accession
1942.4
Source extras
tec
Oak with straw marquetry
tombstone
Ladies Writing Desk, c. 1750–75. Possibly Northern Italy, near France. Oak with straw marquetry; overall: 97.2 x 76.2 x 44.5 cm (38 1/4 x 30 x 17 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Grace Rainey Rogers in memory of her father, William J. Rainey, 1942.40
collection
Furniture
didYouKnow
The surface of this ladies writing desk is completely covered with straw marquetry decoration both outside and in.
citations
citation
Milliken, William. "The Rousseau de la Rottière Room the Gift of Grace Rainey Rogers." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 29, no. 4 (April 1942): 47-66
page_number
Mentioned: p. 50-51; Reproduced: p. 62
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 142
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 142
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 185
creditline
Gift of Grace Rainey Rogers in memory of her father, William J. Rainey
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:17:10.450000
sourceId
122107
dept
Decorative Art and Design
coll
Furniture
med
Oak with straw marquetry
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e102fb0670e62348