Twee bureaus after 1878

This print, “Twee bureaus,” or “Two desks,” presents two designs for furniture, and was likely made in France. The designs presented here allow us to explore social and economic structures of the time. Note the reference to Louis XVI, and the delicate craftsmanship; these suggest a commission for the upper classes, and the kind of activities they would have engaged in at the time. We might consider the political nature of these objects as symbols of wealth and power. We might also think about the institutional history of furniture design. How would these have been made, marketed and sold? What kinds of workshops and distribution networks were in place at the time? To understand this work better, we might look at the history of furniture design, or even at archives of sales ledgers to see how these items were received. As historians, we can only interpret the meaning of art within its social and institutional context.