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Object Timeline
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1913 |
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1996 |
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1997 |
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2013 |
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2024 |
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Desk / Cabinet (Belgium)
This is a Desk / cabinet. It was designed by Eleanor Mabel Sarton. It is dated 1913 and we acquired it in 1996. Its medium is various woods, mother-of-pearl, ivory, silk. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.
This writing desk's design, production, and use hold equal fascination. Eleanor Mabel Sarton, born in England, designed the desk—which has a mix of Belgian, French, and Austrian influences—as part of a suite of furniture while working for a Brussels interior design firm. Its cabinetwork was executed in Belgium and the marquetry in Bavaria, and it was exhibited in a showroom at the 1913 Ghent (Belgium) exposition. Shortly after, in 1915, the designer, her husband, the historian George Sarton, and their young daughter, May (who would become a well-known poet and author), left war-torn Europe for the United States. After the war ended, George purchased the desk and it stayed in the family until May’s death in the 1990s. May, who spoke lovingly of her mother’s furniture designs, wrote that the desk was akin to a jewel. Mabel Sarton, however, did not emphasize preciousness in her work, but practicality, beauty, and comfort; her use of rich woods, ivory, and mother-of-pearl shows an appreciation of materials and a simple, clean form. She called furniture like this desk, with details inside and out, folding doors and secret drawers hiding "necessary but unbeautiful" goods "surprise furniture."
This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled A Cabinet of Surprises.
This object was
bequest of
Eleanor May Sarton.
It is credited Bequest of Eleanor May Sarton.
- Cabinet On Stand (probably England)
- marquetry inlaid, veneered and joined oak, deal, walnut, and other wood,....
- Bequest of Mrs. John Innes Kane.
- 1926-22-43
![Here we have a realistic, technical drawing of a simple standing radio. It rendered on a cream paper and has minimal, neutral colors: dark wood for shading and side wall, light gray for front and speaker face, and a blue-gray for the shadow underneath. The radio itself is boxy and stands on four squared legs tapering in thickness from the bottom up. The front panel is angled inward and has a large speaker face starting from the middle and goes down in shaded, horizontal lines. Above the speaker are buttons evenly spaced in pairs on the left and right of unreadable logo text. Above those is a blank, rectangular screen with simple border. In the corner of the drawing is a stamp that says [ROUGH SKETCH] in serif font, and below in smaller letters [Henry Dreyfuss, 501 Madison Avenue, NYC]. In even smaller letters are the words [DRAWING NO.] and [DATE], both with lines to fill in. On the blank lines are penciled in, [589] next to drawing number, and [5-10-48, W.W.] next to the date. Penciled in the top left corner and bottom right corner is a very small [29.00].](https://images.collection.cooperhewitt.org/119016_9d73f8a2f72a350a_n.jpg "Drawing, Design for a Radio, May 10, 1948")
- Drawing, Design for a Radio, May 10, 1948
- graphite, brown, white, yellow color pencil on tracing paper.
- Gift of John Bruce.
- 1993-65-16
- Two-Handled Vase Vase
- porcelain, vitreous enamel.
- Gift of Arthur Altschul.
- 1994-117-2
Its dimensions are
H x W x D: 125.1 x 135.2 x 52.2cm (49 1/4 x 53 1/4 x 20 9/16in.)
Cite this object as
Desk / Cabinet (Belgium); Designed by Eleanor Mabel Sarton (English, 1878–1950); various woods, mother-of-pearl, ivory, silk; H x W x D: 125.1 x 135.2 x 52.2cm (49 1/4 x 53 1/4 x 20 9/16in.); Bequest of Eleanor May Sarton; 1996-9-1
