An American Late Classical Mahogany Secretary Bookcase, c. 1840, attributed to Thomas Day, North Carolina, projecting cornice, inset arch frieze, two glazed doors with opposing scroll mullions, shelf interior; lower case with outset escritoire drawer with fitted interior, over three drawers flanked by scroll stiles, scroll feet, old pencil inscription inside top drawer, "made Sept 29, 1841/brought to Lowryville, Aug. 24, 1899", height 90 in., width 45 in., depth 23 in. Exhibition History: "Sankofa," various exhibitions, including Harriet Tubman African-American Museum, Macon, GA; DuSable Museum, Chicago, IL; Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans, LA, Dec. 1994-Mar. 1995; The Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, MD; Hampton University, Hampton, VA; The African American Museum, Dallas, TX; and others. Note: The word "Sankofa," is an Akan word meaning "go back and take;" when combined with the proverbial Adinkra heart-shaped symbol, Sankofa represents the idea of learning from the past to move orward. This idea has been incorporated into many modern Afro-centric organizations in America, including the traveling exhibition of 1993-1998, "Sankofa." It is interesting to note that the scrolls that Thomas Day used in the upper doors of the current lot bear a marked resemblance to the Adinkra symbol for Sankofa. A nearly identical secretary bookcase is pictured in Patton, Sharon F. African-American Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998 Special thanks to Patricia Marshall (1958-2010) for her assistance in this catalogue entry and her contributions to the field of North Carolina Decorative Arts, particularly focusing on the life and furniture of the historic African American cabinetmaker Thomas Day. Reference: Marshall, Patricia P. and Jo R. Leimenstoll. Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010; Barfield, Rodney D. and Patricia Marshall. Thomas Day: African-American Furniture Maker. Raleigh: North Carolina Office of Archives and History, 2005.