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Secretary-Press
William Seaycirca 1790
Chrysler Museum of Art
Norfolk, United States
The cartouche in the center of this cabinet bears the carved letters “WH,” the initials of prosperous North Carolina planter Whitmell Hill (1743–1797). Around 1790 Hill commissioned Bertie County-based joiner William Seay to build and furnish a new manor house for his nearby estate Palmyra. This imposing piece shows both the vanity of its owner and the ambitions of its maker, who carved vines, scrolls, and open-work flames on the pediment in imitation of the elaborate crests atop Chippendale-style high chests from this era. These design elements brought echoes of Philadelphia and London sophistication to rural northeastern North Carolina.
63.90.1
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Details
- Title: Secretary-Press
- Creator: William Seay
- Creator Nationality: American
- Creator Gender: Male
- Date Created: circa 1790
- Location Created: Roanoke River basin, NC, United States
- Provenance: The Smithwick family, near Ahoskie, lower Hertford County, North Carolina; Gift of Mrs. Phillip S. Moore, Jr. in honor of her father, Louis Jordan Smithwick, to the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences (later Chrysler Museum of Art), 1963.
- Physical Dimensions: 108 1/2 x 45 x 22 1/4 in. (275.6 x 114.3 x 56.5 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Phillip S. Moore, Jr., in honor of her father, Louis Jordan Smithwick
- Type: Furniture
- Medium: Walnut and yellow pine
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