Secret Desk in oiled oak with black leather accordion and brass legs by a window

Secret Desk open, with oak boxes and organisers raised above the leather top

Secret Desk

Unique transforming desk in oiled oak, leather and brass, from a limited series made in only a few copies. The first one is in the permanent collection of the National Museum in Kraków.

Magdalena's diploma at the Faculty of Industrial Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (2012), supervised by Prof. Piotr Bożyk. A simple geometric desk in oiled oak with a leather top. Turn the removable brass crank and a worm gear lifts the leather accordion, revealing oak boxes and organisers; a secret compartment opens only after the right sequence of moves. The desk was nominated in the Best Design Diplomas of Polish Academies of Fine Arts 2012, received the rectors' honourable mention and was widely featured in design media. After the “#dziedzictwo” exhibition (2017-2018) it entered the permanent collection of the National Museum in Kraków, and since December 2021 it has been on display in the Szołayski House, in the Gallery of 20th and 21st Century Polish Design “Przedmioty”.

Design: Magdalena Tekieli
Collection: Museum piece
Materials: Oiled oak, leather, brass
Signature: Every piece is signed with the designer's name: an engraved brass plate bearing the Magdalena Tekieli logo.
Dimensions: 94 × 74.5 × 77 cm

A unique piece from a limited series made in only a few copies; the first one is in the National Museum in Kraków.

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How Secret Desk works: turning the brass crank raises the leather accordion and reveals oak boxes and organisers, which can be taken out and rearranged on the leather top.

Secret Desk

Details and craft

The key to its secrets

The brass crank is not fixed to the desk: it can be taken out and kept with you. Without it the desk stays closed and no one can look inside. Slot it in and turn, and the leather accordion slowly rises to reveal the oak boxes. Like the key to a music box: whoever holds the crank holds every secret.

Hidden oak drawer with finger joints turning out from under the leather top of Secret Desk

A hidden compartment

Somewhere inside there is a hiding place known only to its owner. It cannot be seen from outside and appears only after the right sequence of moves. A place for letters, keepsakes and everything meant to stay a secret.

Leather accordion

Turn the crank and the leather accordion slowly rises, lifting the oak boxes above the top. Close it and the desk is a simple geometric block again.

Oak organiser next to the black leather top

Oak boxes and organisers

Inside wait boxes and organisers of oiled oak, each with its place for letters, pens and small treasures.

National Museum in Kraków

#dziedzictwo: 23 June 2017 - 14 January 2018, Main Building
Exhibition: 650+ works, around 70,000 visitors
On display: Szołayski House, plac Szczepański 9, Kraków

Secret Desk is a unique piece from a limited series made in only a few copies. The first one belongs to the permanent collection of the National Museum in Kraków, Poland's largest museum.

In the permanent collection of the National Museum in Kraków

#dziedzictwo

23 June 2017 - 14 January 2018, Main Building · 650+ works, around 70,000 visitors

In 2017 the desk was shown at “#dziedzictwo” (#heritage) in the museum's Main Building, one of the largest exhibitions in the museum's history. Over seven months, from 23 June 2017 to 14 January 2018, around 70,000 visitors saw more than 650 works telling the story of Polish identity, art and design across the centuries. Secret Desk was among them.

Szołayski House, where Secret Desk is on permanent display. Photo: Pymouss, CC BY-SA 4.0

On display

Szołayski House, plac Szczepański 9, Kraków

After the exhibition the museum added the desk to its collection. Since December 2021 it has been on permanent display in the Szołayski House, in the Gallery of 20th and 21st Century Polish Design “Przedmioty” (Objects), alongside the most important works of Polish applied art.

See it in the museum About the exhibition

Object record in the museum catalogue (inv. no. MNK IV-Sp-1242)

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