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Arthur Espenet Carpenter
Shell desk1974

Not on view

Wooden roll-top writing desk with splay legs, fan-shaped inlay on the sides, open interior with cubbies and drawers, and a terra-cotta leather writing surface

Wooden writing desk with a curved tambour roll top, fan-shaped side panels with carved radiating lines, and four splayed legs joined by a stretcher, in warm honey-toned wood.

Wooden sculptural chair with a large fan-shaped back resembling a scallop shell, featuring radiating carved ribs in alternating dark and light wood tones, supported by splayed tripod legs.

Close-up of a warm-toned wood surface with a signature and number incised and filled with reddish pigment, reading 'Espenet 74/11'.

Close-up detail of a wooden surface with crudely scratched or carved letters in Latin script, set into warm brown-toned wood grain.

Close-up of a wooden surface with visible grain, showing two sets of inscribed markings in dark ink or pigment, one appearing to be Latin characters and one possibly numeric.

Close-up photograph of a wooden barrel's curved stave surface in warm amber tones, with the handwritten number "7411" in black ink and vertical wood grain detail.

Designer: Arthur Espenet Carpenter
United States, 1920-2006
Title: Shell desk
Date Made: 1974
Medium: Walnut, leather
Dimensions: 38 × 37 × 20 in. (96.52 × 93.98 × 50.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the 2016 Decorative Arts and Design Acquisitions Committee (DA²)
Accession Number: M.2016.140
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Decorative Arts and Design