Étagère c. 1850
juliusdessoir
simple decoration style
natural stone pattern
wood texture
pottery
sculpture
furniture
sculptural image
stoneware
ceramic
wooden texture
united-states
metal and woodwork
"Étagère" is a c. 1850 piece of furniture designed by German cabinetmaker Julius Dessoir. The intricately carved wooden piece features a shelving unit, a mirror, and a carved human face on the top. The ornate design is characteristic of the Rococo Revival style popular in mid-19th century Europe, where it was favored for its whimsical and decorative qualities. The piece is currently on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, showcasing a significant piece of historical furniture.
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This lavishly carved and decorated étagère was made by Julius Dessoir, a French émigré who came to America in the late 1840s and quickly established a thriving furniture-making business on Broadway, the most fashionable street for shopping in 19th-century New York City. Designed primarily for 19th-century parlors, rococo revival étagères, like this example, typically displayed vases of flowers, scientific specimens, and fine porcelain and marble, seen from the round on mirrored shelves. The Taylor family of St. Paul used this étagère in their parlor at 99 Mackubin Avenue. After daughter Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor married Louis W. Hill in 1901, the object made its way to their home at 260 Summit Avenue in St. Paul, next to the home of Louis' father, the railroad baron James J. Hill. Dessoir étagère in the Taylor parlor at 99 Mackubin Street, St. Paul, c. 1890Courtesy of a private collector
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