Center Table

Artist Herter Brothers (American, 1864-1906)

Dateabout 1865-1870

Dimensions30 x 48 in. (76.2 x 121.9 cm).

Mediumebony, rosewood, sycamore, kingwood, tulipwood, amboina, mother-of-pearl, and lacquer

ClassificationFurniture

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Edward A. Kern

Object number

1986.65

Not on View

Label TextThis table would have been placed in the center of a drawing room, parlor, or library, making it a noticeable statement of its owner’s wealth and sophisticated taste. The industrial boom that followed the Civil War brought new opportunities for wealth. American designers often looked to the past for styles that expressed their patrons’ new prosperity. This tabletop—inlaid with expensive woods, mother-of-pearl, and lacquer—is reminiscent of furniture made in France or the Netherlands in the late 1600s. The rest of the table features classically inspired urns, masks, and winged lions from the Italian Renaissance. This synthesis of design motifs became known as the Renaissance Revival, a style popularized by the magnificent furniture and interior design of the Herter Brothers’ firm in New York.Published ReferencesPage, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, p. 140, repr. (col.) fig. 58.1.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 251, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryAtlanta, The High Museum of Art. 1984-84.

Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1994

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994-94.