item details
NameWriting Bureau
ProductionAnton Seuffert; cabinetmaker; circa 1875; New Zealand
Anton Teutenberg; carver; circa 1875; New Zealand
Anton Teutenberg; carver; circa 1875; New Zealand
Classificationbureaus, writing desks
Materialspūriri (wood), rimu (wood), tōtara (wood), rewarewa (wood), kauri (wood), wood, glass, leather, veneer
Materials SummaryNew Zealand native timbers
DimensionsApproximate: 1230mm (width), 1570mm (height), 710mm (depth)
Registration NumberPF000079
Credit lineBequest of Mrs E H Blair in memory of her late husband, Archibald Anderson Watt, 1918
Overview
Writing Bureau or bonheur-du-jour in Louis XV style. Marquetry work in inlaid veneers of New Zealand timbers, mainly kauri, puriri & rewarewa. The iconography of the marquetry work features on the central door panel, a Moa standing beside a giant tree fern with a lake and mountains in the distance, the side door panels feature a Maori man and woman. At top centre of the cabinet is a finely carved relief portrait head in puriri of a Maori man wearing full moko. The interior of the cabinet features a miniature "ballroom" with chequerboard parquetry flooring, pillars and mirrored panels.