Dressing Table

Maker Unknown, American

Collections

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Date1720-1730

Mediumwalnut, pine, walnut veneer, and brass

Dimensions28 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 20 1/4 in. (72.4 x 82.6 x 51.4 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gail-Oxford Collection

Status

On view

Label TextIn the 18th century, dressing tables were used by women for applying makeup and dressing and were often paired with high chests of similar design. This dressing table with three side-by-side drawers reflects the formal and structural innovations of Baroque style, first introduced to America in the early 1700s. The walnut veneers decorating the table’s surface add visual richness to its overall composition. The attenuated legs—with their somewhat unsettling juxtapositions of diminutive vase-shaped turnings, inverted cups, and upturned trumpets—suggest a Baroque aesthetic that emphasized mystery, drama, and disquiet. The X-shaped stretcher and acorn-shaped drop finials are also typical of this style.

Object number2016.11.2