Bureau-ministre met kasten aan de voor- en achterzijde ingelegd met biezen van palissanderhout c. 1894 - 1900

Editor: Here we have Karel Petrus Cornelis de Bazel's "Bureau-ministre met kasten aan de voor- en achterzijde ingelegd met biezen van palissanderhout," a wooden bureau made sometime between 1894 and 1900. I am struck by how solid and imposing this desk seems; almost monumental. What can you tell us about it? Curator: What immediately grabs me is the intersection of art and social context. De Bazel's desk comes out of the Arts and Crafts movement. Can you recall the driving forces behind that? Editor: From what I remember, it was a reaction against industrialization, emphasizing handcraftsmanship and design that was accessible and beautiful for everyone, not just the elite. Curator: Precisely. But let’s unpack that “everyone.” The Arts and Crafts movement, while idealistic in its goals of democratizing art, often overlooked the labor conditions required to produce these handcrafted objects. Consider who had access to the skills, materials, and leisure to participate in this movement. Editor: That's a good point. It’s beautiful, and supposedly against industrialization but seems to benefit only a particular class and gender, excluding so many others from participating in the act of creation, or owning a handcrafted piece like this desk. Curator: Exactly. Looking at the wood itself – the palissander – brings up further questions of colonialism and trade routes, of who gets to profit from whose land and labor. It's also very gendered if you think about the kind of space in which it would sit; was that office intended for men or women? Who had access to this workspace? Editor: That’s fascinating, I hadn't considered how many historical power dynamics could be embedded in a desk! I now see it in a new light. Curator: These objects, however seemingly benign, hold so much historical weight.