Desk c. 1750 - 1780

Editor: Here we have a baroque "Desk," crafted sometime between 1750 and 1780. The materials include wood, ivory, and brass, though the artist remains anonymous. It strikes me as opulent, but almost teetering on the edge of gaudy. What's your take on this, what do you see? Curator: Oh, I love that you say it teeters! Because doesn't life do that? Like the precarious dance of standing on one foot while putting on pants. To me, this desk embodies that tension, that desire to impress and hold value while life wobbles onward. What stories were penned here? Love letters? Grocery lists? And how did this desk *feel*? Smooth under the palm, maybe a bit stubborn when a drawer stuck. Editor: That’s a really interesting perspective. So, beyond its practical use and possible history, is there something about the design itself that speaks to that? Curator: Absolutely! The heavy curves practically beg to be touched. Then you notice the feet—powerful claws rooted to the ground but also suggesting a certain fragility, wouldn't you say? It's almost as if it knows its place as a *thing* holding ideas and memories, as if its true artistry came to life through being more than just an object. I can imagine the hands that poured over its surfaces, or even cursed its awkward shape while attempting to clean underneath. Do you think an object can hold the story of being itself? Editor: That's given me a whole new way to think about furniture, not just as functional items, but vessels of lived experience. I appreciate you focusing on how such old furniture had lives too, beyond ours! Curator: Likewise! Perhaps a glimpse into lives of people we may now only be dreams within dreams of. What we are holding, but also, what is holding us.