bureaus (slant-front desks)

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  2. top of the aat hierarchies
  3. Objects Facet
  4. Furnishings and Equipment (hierarchy name)
  5. Furnishings (hierarchy name)
  6. furnishings (works)
  7. [furnishings by form or function]
  8. furniture
  9. [furniture by form or function]
  10. [storage and display furniture]
  11. case furniture
  12. desks
  13. fall-front desks
  14. slant-front desks
  15. bureaus
Scope note
Refers to either a writing table incorporating drawers or a type of case furniture, generally a chest of drawers, with a hinged, fall-front writing surface. The first furniture types to be referred to by this term developed in France in the mid-17th century, the term having evolved from the medieval French word for a coarse linen cloth that was laid on a table to provide a surface for writing. In modern usage, in Europe a "bureau" is a writing desk, usually with a hinged writing flap that rests at a sloping angle when closed and, when opened, reveals a tier of pigeonholes, small drawers, and sometimes a small cupboard. In the United States, a "bureau" is typically synonymous with a "chest of drawers," having lost the surface for writing.
bureaus
Accepted term: 03-Feb-2025