Étagère
Artist
Maker unknown
Date1850-1860
MediumRosewood, black walnut, white oak, basswood, black ash, glass
DimensionsOverall: 109 1/2 × 69 5/8 × 24 3/4in. (278.1 × 176.8 × 62.9cm)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number59.118
On View
On viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextÉtagères were desirable adjuncts in fashionable, mid-nineteenth-century homes. A flattering complement to the taste and wealth of its owner, the étagère or whatnot, as it was sometimes called, was, according to a cabinetmakers' handbook, a "piece of furniture which serves occasional or incidental use, and belongs, indifferently to the dining-room, drawing-room, or parlor." Most étagères are heavily decorated monuments to lavish display. Mirrored backs enhance the impact of the artifacts exhibited on the shelves.
This étagère adheres to French design precepts--the lower section, for example, is derived from mid-eighteenth-century Parisian console tables and their nineteenth-century interpretations. Rosewood was the favored wood for such ostentatious furniture.
