Charles-Honoré Lannuier (American, born France, 1779–1819). <em>Pier Table</em>, ca. 1815–1819. Marble, rosewood, ormolu, gesso, 36 x 55 7/8 x 21 1/4 in. (91.4 x 141.9 x 54.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Pierrepont Family, 41.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.1_IMLS_SL2.jpg)

Charles-Honoré Lannuier (American, born France, 1779–1819). Pier Table, ca. 1815–1819. Marble, rosewood, ormolu, gesso, 36 x 55 7/8 x 21 1/4 in. (91.4 x 141.9 x 54.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Pierrepont Family, 41.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.1_IMLS_SL2.jpg)

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What's happening here?

These objects all come from the Decorative Arts collection and have been placed within the American Art wing to show how vases like this, notice that they feature Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, may have been put on display in an elegant early 19th century American home on a table like that one.

Tell me more.

This is a collection of objects in the late Neoclassical style. It is sometimes called the "Empire Style" because Americans were looking so closely to France and the Napoleonic Empire for design ideas. In fact, the console table was designed by a French immigrant to New York named Charles-Honore Lannuier. Although it was made here in the US, certain components, like the small bronze plaque on the front, were imported from France.

Would the design of this table be more Hellenistic or Egyptian in inspiration? I think it’s Hellenistic (neoclassical) but the woman with wings seems to be a hybrid.

I'm seeing more Hellenistic/Roman in this table, but it was common for 19th-century designers to conflate multiple ancient and non-western cultures.

Pier Table

Decorative Arts and Design

Charles-Honoré Lannuier was trained in Paris and immigrated in 1803 to New York, where he became one of the leading furniture makers. After the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, anti-English sentiment made French goods especially appealing to Americans. Lannuier imported French pattern books to keep abreast of the latest fashions. One of these books was the design source for the robustly carved and gilded supports in the form of caryatids (mythogical female figures); carved dolphin feet; and elaborate gilt-bronze mounts.

This table and the portrait of Washington nearby were both owned by Hezekiel Beers Pierrepont (1768–1838), scion of an important Brooklyn Heights family. The two objects stood in the Pierrepont house in Brooklyn Heights before they came to the Museum in the 1940s.

MAKER Charles-Honoré Lannuier, American, born France, 1779–1819

MEDIUM Marble, rosewood, ormolu, gesso

Place Made: New York, New York, United States

DATES ca. 1815–1819

DIMENSIONS 36 x 55 7/8 x 21 1/4 in. (91.4 x 141.9 x 54.6 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Decorative Arts and Design

ACCESSION NUMBER 41.1

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Pierrepont Family

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Pier table, white marble top supported by rosewood veneer frame, applied ormolu (bronze gilt) wreaths on each corner, back of table has inset looking glass, skirting of table is supported by two gesso winged classical figures, resting on concave shelf which is supported by two gesso dolphin heads. Condition: Good

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Charles-Honoré Lannuier (American, born France, 1779–1819). Pier Table, ca. 1815–1819. Marble, rosewood, ormolu, gesso, 36 x 55 7/8 x 21 1/4 in. (91.4 x 141.9 x 54.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Pierrepont Family, 41.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.1_IMLS_SL2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 41.1_IMLS_SL2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What's happening here?

Tell me more.

Would the design of this table be more Hellenistic or Egyptian in inspiration? I think it’s Hellenistic (neoclassical) but the woman with wings seems to be a hybrid.

I'm seeing more Hellenistic/Roman in this table, but it was common for 19th-century designers to conflate multiple ancient and non-western cultures.