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American, Probably New York City Possibly Boston

Center table, ca. 1850

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

American

Title

Center table

Year

ca. 1850

Medium

Oak and other hardwood, ebonized and gilded; ormolu (gilded bronze) mounts

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • inlaying,
  • inlaid,
  • oak,
  • gilding,
  • gilded,
  • ebonized hardwood,
  • ormolu

Dimensions

Height: 77.5 cm (30 1/2 inches)

Place

Probably; New York City; Possibly; Boston

Type

  • Decorative Arts,
  • Furniture

Credit

Museum purchase: bequest of Eliza Taft, by exchange

Object Number

2000.4

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Recent Acquisitions

February 18 - April 16, 2000

For most of the 20th century, interest in "Victorian" furniture was generally overshadowed by the prevailing taste for modem design and manufactures. Over the past 25 years, the Museum has made a concerted effort to collect 19th-century furniture, a natural complement to its superb collection of American painting from the same era. This elaborate center table displays the talents of several skilled craftsmen: carvers, gilders, cabinetmakers, bronze founders, and inlay makers. Probably made in New York, it resided in Boston for nearly a century. The eclectic mix of historical ornament was popular in all the arts of the 1850s, a time of rising incomes, increasing ease of transatlantic travel, and the immigration of thousands of skilled European craftsmen to American cities.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Center table with the accession number of 2000.4. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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