The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Globe Sewing Table (Globustisch)

Globe Sewing Table (Globustisch)

c. 1800–1810
Burl walnut veneer, mahogany, ebony, satinwood, gilt wood, painted wood; mirrored glass; metal
Overall: 90.2 x 45.5 cm (35 1/2 x 17 15/16 in.)
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.199.a
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The top half of the globe rotates upward to reveal hidden compartments for sewing tools, threads, and unfinished fabric pieces.

Description

Work tables resembling globes were the usual form for a lady's sewing or writing table around 1800 in Austria. Combining moving parts, secret compartments, and highly finished decoration, these tables were also a way for the cabinetmaker to show off his skill. The tripod supports and temple-like architectural quality of both the exterior and interior decoration reflect the fashionable taste for neoclassical style, or Biedermeier as it was called in Austria, where Vienna was the center of such elaborate furniture production.
  • by 2004
    Private Collection, Switzerland, sold to Bernd Goeckler Antiques
    by 2004
    (Bernd Goeckler Antiques, Inc., New York, NY, sold to Hiedemann Fine Art)
    December 2004
    (Hiedemann Fine Art, Richmond, VA, sold to Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley)
    2004–2020
    Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH
    2020
    Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2020–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).
  • {{cite web|title=Globe Sewing Table (Globustisch)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1800–1810|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.199.a