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This art exhibition
stand in Renaissance Revival style was probably commissioned
for an art gallery in one of several great mansions built in
the United States during the Victorian period. The hinged lid
opens to an upright position and one of the mouldings folds
down to form an easel. Beneath the top compartment, is another
compartment containing a large drawer and a second easel. Among
the extraordinary features are the four standing winged lions
supporting the outer corners. |
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Although the furniture of Herter Brothers
was derived from a variety of historical periods, the Anglo-Japanese
style associated with the designs of Christian Herter is
the most distinctive. Having become acquainted first-hand
with the work of the English design reformers, including
E. W. Godwin, on a trip to England in 1870, Christian developed
an original style based on their precepts which required
straight lines and flat surface ornamentation. This cabinet
exhibits the restraint associated with the firm's best work.
It retains its original gilt pressed paper, as well as its
brass pulls, escutcheon, key, and beveled mirrors.
Herter Brothers
Herter Brothers was the most progressive
American interior design and furniture production firm of
the late 19th century. The newly rich were ensured both
tasteful and elegant interiors when they entrusted the Herters
with the decoration of their homes. Gustave Herter and his
younger half-brother Christian were both born in Stuttgart,
Germany, and trained in Europe before emigrating to the
United States. The firm created furniture and decoration
derived from a variety of historical periods.
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The tall cylindrical
coffeepot with its free-floating dragonflies represents the
Japanese influence on the avant-garde art of the 1870s. Edward
C. Moore, Tiffany's chief designer, undoubtedly fell under this
influence. In fabricating the piece, he employed the Japanese
technique mokume, in which brass or silver is mixed in copper
to achieve a swirled effect. The mokume waves achieve a cloudlike
quality, interspersed among the applied dragonflies. |
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While a student in Paris
in the late 1880's, Adams began a series of portrait busts
of American women that would soon earn him wide critical acclaim.
In a marked departure from the bland neoclassical style, his
delicate modeling and sensitive use of ornament and costume
gave an effect of softness and spontaneity, and created a
new ideal of feminine charm and beauty. In these busts, Adams
experimented with polychrome, tinting plaster in soft tones,
and using wood, marble, ivory, and metals in simple combinations.
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