Title / object name  Writing bureau

Maker	Role	Date
Seuffert, Anton	cabinetmaker	1867

Medium Summary  Wood - New Zealand native timbers, as listed: TABLE: Top centre - totara burr Frieze - cross cut rimu Edge moulding - cross cut rimu Inlaid banding - tawa & kohekohe Drawer & sides - cross cut rimu, rewarewa, mottled kauri banding & edging Legs - rimu veneer Edging on legs - totara, kohekohe, kauri Carvings - totara CABINET: Base - cross cut puriri Moulding - rewarewa & puriri Sides - kauri [centre], puriri [edge beading], puriri, kohekohe, tawa [edge decoration] Side doors - kohekohe & kauri parquetry, totara burr, puriri at left & right of totara burr Corners of cabinet - totara burr & puriri Frieze moulding - cross cut puriri Tops - solid kauri on centre, totara burr veneer on sides Silver shield on cabinet front; glass mirrors inside cabinet; leather pad on pull-out writing drawers
Materials  totara, kauri, Rimu, silvered glass

Dimensions
Overall	1420 (Height) x 710 (Length) x 1230 (Width/Depth) mm

Classification  secretaries, writing desks
Technique  marquetry
Registration Number  PF000206
Credit Line
Purchased 1987

'Secretaire' is the name for an enclosed writing desk, usually with a top cabinet. This secretaire was given to English botanist Sir Joseph Hooker when his book Handbook of New Zealand Flora was published in 1867. A group of 'grateful colonists' had paid cabinetmaker Anton Seuffert to make the desk especially to congratulate and thank Sir Joseph.

Attention to detail
Anton Seuffert, an admired cabinetmaker who worked in Auckland, New Zealand, was chosen to make the secretaire. Seuffert was famed for his detailed marquetry work, an art where pieces of wood are inlaid into furniture to create decoration.

For Sir Joseph's secretaire, Seuffert created a structure of New Zealand kauri wood, and then finished it with other native woods, including kauri, burr tötara, rewarewa, püriri, and kohekohe. Marquetry on the front of the secretaire's main door shows a moa, a kiwi, and marine mammals, with a globe centred on New Zealand. There are also classical motifs alluding to Hooker's work in classifying New Zealand's flora. The Greek god Apollo stands on top of a column, holding a lyre. He represents Harmony, Order and Reason. The goddess Demeter [known as Ceres to the Romans] is depicted at the base of the column. She is holding a sheaf of wheat, symbolising fertility and abundance.

Sir Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker (1817-1911) was an English born botanist who made voyages to New Zealand and the South Pacific between 1839 and 1843 to research plants of the area. He published books on the plants he found and inspired others in New Zealand to study botany. He has several New Zealand plants named after him, including the pökäkä tree (Elaeocarpus hookerianus).

On display
Sir Joseph kept the secretaire in his drawing room. In 1886, the cabinet was exhibited in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London.