John Henry Belter (American, born Germany, 1804–1863). Dresser with Mirror, ca. 1855. Laminated rosewood, marble, mirrored glass, 95 x 49 1/2 x 25 in. (241.3 x 125.7 x 63.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Ernest Vietor, 39.31a-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.31a-c_PS6.jpg)
John Henry Belter (American, born Germany, 1804–1863). Dresser with Mirror, ca. 1855. Laminated rosewood, marble, mirrored glass, 95 x 49 1/2 x 25 in. (241.3 x 125.7 x 63.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Ernest Vietor, 39.31a-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.31a-c_acetate_bw.jpg)
Dresser with Mirror
Decorative Arts and Design
These two dressers were produced in New York about a generation apart for style-conscious, upper-middle-class consumers. The Belter dresser, with its undulating contours and profusion of naturalistic decoration, is a masterpiece of the Rococo Revival style, while the later, ebonized dresser is in the more geometric Aesthetic Movement style. The Aesthetic Movement represented a conscious rejection of the perceived excesses of the overwrought revival style that preceded it. Its proponents urged design reforms based on Augustus Pugin’s principles (see the gaming table nearby), as well as new lessons learned from the art of Japan. Although both dressers were considered stylish when made, it is the simple rectilinear form and flattened, abstract decoration of the later piece that appear “modern” to us today.
MEDIUM
Laminated rosewood, marble, mirrored glass
DATES
ca. 1855
DIMENSIONS
95 x 49 1/2 x 25 in. (241.3 x 125.7 x 63.5 cm)
base height: 34 1/2 in. (87.6 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Decorative Arts and Design
ACCESSION NUMBER
39.31a-c
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Mrs. Ernest Vietor
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
John Henry Belter (American, born Germany, 1804–1863). Dresser with Mirror, ca. 1855. Laminated rosewood, marble, mirrored glass, 95 x 49 1/2 x 25 in. (241.3 x 125.7 x 63.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Ernest Vietor, 39.31a-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.31a-c_PS6.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 39.31a-c_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2011
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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