This masterpiece was designed to hold Ninian Home’s prolific business correspondence and for him to sit at and compose his letters. In its restrained, deceptively simple, neoclassical design, it closely relates to the Chiffonier in the Dining Room.

Paxton’s furniture, including this secretaire, demonstrates the taste of a businessman who knew the virtues of the best quality timber from his dealings in Virginia and the Caribbean, as well as being on friendly terms with both Thomas Chippendale the Elder and Junior.

Ninian wanted the most expensive timber – particularly the feather or flame mahogany from the buttresses of the tree or from where major branch joined the trunk. This was cut down with great difficulty by enslaved people clearing tropical rainforest for plantations.

The flame-patterned veneers in the doors of this secretaire along with the paterae and beading form the restrained neo-classical decorative style that is common to The Paxton Style.

Inside, it has a wealth of details in the fine construction of multiple pigeonholes for filing documents, exquisitely constructed drawers that glide in and out as they originally did, nearly all the original handles and pulls survive and the three trays with the unique Chippendale trademark marbled paper all survive. The remnants of the original baize dust covers are evident on some trays – they do not survive anywhere else in the collection.

Acquisition by The Paxton Trust

This secretaire was purchased in February 2022 with generous support from the National Fund for Acquisitions, the Art Fund, the Museums Association Beecroft Bequest, The Chippendale Society, and a private donor. The donor also generously supported the transport, conservation, and display costs. The vendors, Kevin Kleinbardt and Ahna (Hogeland) Petersen of Yew Tree House and Clinton Howell kindly reduced the sale price to support the return of the secretaire to its original home at Paxton.

This piece of furniture was conserved in 2022 with funding from Museums Galleries Scotland.