Armchair

This armchair enlivened with naturalistic carved birds, flowers, and female heads is part of a suite of furniture (1995.150.1-.3) exhibited at the New York Crystal Palace in 1853 by the Prussian-born cabinetmaker Julius Dessoir. Showcasing virtuosic carving, the suite received enthusiastic critical acclaim, with one account describing it as "executed with taste and spirit." The chair, identified at the time as Louis XIV–style, combines contemporary taste for lifelike carved decoration with elements inspired by French seventeenth- and eighteenth-century designs. Dessoir’s furniture appealed to consumers seeking to demonstrate their sophistication by furnishing their homes in fashionable European style.

After immigrating to the United States in the late 1830s, Dessoir set up shop as a cabinetmaker in New York City. In 1847, Dessoir received attention for designing the "Chinese" library at Iranistan, P.T. Barnum’s mansion near Bridgeport, Connecticut. This chair, made some six years later, is in quite a different style, attesting to the varied range of furniture the shop produced. Around fifty men worked at Dessoir’s shop, producing an annual output over $20,000. Dessoir’s successful cabinetmaking business continued until he retired in 1865, leaving the business to his sons.