Ontwerp voor een toilettafel met een spiegel en toebehoren, vermoedelijk voor de hertogin van Parma c. 1845 - 1848

This is a design for a dressing table, made in graphite on paper by Charles-Eugène Trioullier. What’s interesting here is the way that a sketch, so apparently insubstantial, can represent something so materially rich. We see the mirror, surrounded by elaborate carving, presumably destined to be realized in wood by highly skilled tradespeople. The table itself would be of a dense hardwood, perhaps inlaid with other precious materials. And then there are the accessories imagined on the surface: ceramic vessels, perhaps, or cast metalwork. All of these things, even in this preliminary form, speak to a highly developed system of making. The designer may have conceived of the whole ensemble, but its realization would depend on the co-ordination of many different expertises, and a great deal of labor. It’s a useful reminder that even the most ephemeral of drawings can give us access to a whole world of making.