Dressing table
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This unusually proportioned dressing table is one of the few pieces associated with Schastey prior to his reexamination in this exhibition. With its carved details of dark purpleheart contrasting with the lighter satinwood, mother-of-pearl, and silvered hardware, it relates closely to the cabinetwork in the Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room. Renaissance-inspired carving and marquetry ornament the central panels of the cabinet doors, which open to reveal a three-way mirror. Jigsaw-cut piercings lighten the base of the foot support and recall the music stand of the grand piano. The similarities between this piece, the dressing room, and the furniture from the Clark drawing room demonstrate that Schastey’s workshop reused motifs and techniques, with slight variations, in many separate commissions.
Artwork Details
- Title: Dressing table
- Maker: George A. Schastey & Co. (American, New York, 1873–1897)
- Maker: George A. Schastey (American (born Germany), Merseburg 1839–1894 at sea)
- Date: 1881–82
- Culture: American
- Medium: Satinwood, purpleheart, white pine, marble, mother-of-pearl, silver-plated drawer pulls, brass, mirrored glass, and upholstered footrest with replaced velvet
- Dimensions: 86 3/8 × 36 × 18 3/4 in. (219.4 × 91.4 × 47.6 cm)
- Credit Line: High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection (1982.315)
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing