Most expensive American bureau ever sold

An 18th century mahogany desk sold for $5.68 million An 18th-century Chippendale block-and-shell mahogany desk supposedly made by famed cabinetmaker John Goddard sold for nearly $5.7 million at a Christie's auction in January 2011. It was the fourth-most expensive piece of American furniture. The winning bid was well over the pre-sale estimate of $700,000 to $900,000. The table's top drawer contains a handwritten label indicating that Goddard made the bureau around 1765 for his daughter Catherine, possibly as as a wedding present, according to Christie's.