RARE KENTUCKY INLAID CHERRY SUGAR DESK, hinged slant lid concealing divided interior fitted with two short drawers at top, raised on square-tapered legs, stylized floral device to lid and line inlay throughout, old inscriptions, including "restored" to backboard. Poplar secondary wood. Old refinished surface. First quarter 19th century. 34" H, 30" W, 19" D.
Literature: See MESDA Object Database, S-3555, for a corner cupboard which bears stylized floral inlay to the lower cabinet doors that is remarkably similar to that employed on the lid of the present sugar desk.
Provenance: From a private North Carolina collection.
Catalogue Note: The present sugar desk appears to be a part of a distinctive group of inlaid furniture from the Federal period produced in the region in and around Lexington, Kentucky. Known more generally as the "Dot and Dash" group, pioneering Kentucky scholar Mack Cox continues to identify inlaid furniture forms attributed to this school, which appears to have included multiple shops over several generations. The present sugar desk is now a newly recorded addition to that important group of Southern backcountry furniture.
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Good overall visual condition with scattered wear. Minor pieced repairs to lid and case. Square-tapered legs are later (probably early 20th century). Other possible areas of restoration / alteration.