13: Western European Furniture of Neoclassicism,
Historicism and Art Nouveau

Dressing Table

Second half of the 19th century

Western Europe

Ebony, tortoiseshell, copper, gilded bronze, mirror; inlay, veneering

This elegant dressing table was finished using a technique extensively employed by the famous French 17th-century cabinetmaker Andre-Charles Boulle. The craftsman utilized precious materials - ebony, tortoiseshell, copper and gilded bronze. Decoration of this sort became fashionable in the 19th century and workshops in many European countries produced furniture in the Boulle technique. This furniture did not reach such heights of quality as in the 17th and 18th centuries, but a greater variety of forms and types appeared - from large bookcases to ladies' dressing tables that satisfied the wishes of both the rich middle class and members of the royal families. For example, one of the rooms in the living apartments of the Winter Palace - the Blue Bedroom of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, created in 1839-40 to the design of Alexander Briullov - was entirely furnished with pieces decorated in the Boulle technique and imitations of it. This dressing table is one of the typical examples of furniture produced for an extensive clientele of wealthy customers.