Globustisch work table

attributed to Vienna, Austria

Globustisch work table
c 1840
rosewood veneer with fruitwood marquetry, ivory, brass lock, velvet, penwork,
Currently on display, Gallery 1
Place made
Vienna
Medium
rosewood veneer with fruitwood marquetry, ivory, brass lock, velvet, penwork,
Dimensions
100.0 x 60.0 cm (diam.)
Credit line
Gift of Dr. William Young 2013, great-great grandson of Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia 1848-1854. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Accession number
20132F1
Signature and date
Not signed. Not dated.
Media category
Furniture
Collection area
European decorative arts

  • Following the turbulence of the Napoleonic Wars, Central Europe experienced decades of stability, becoming a period when the middle class prospered, society’s focus turned from political to domestic concerns, and an appreciation of the arts, including furniture design, flourished. The finely crafted furniture of this period – known as the Biedermeier era – is notable for its simplified lines and its adherence to truth in materials, traits that resurfaced in twentieth-century modernism. The ornamentation of wooden Biedermeier furniture lies primarily in the timber itself, polished to highlight the grain to maximum effect.

    The elegant and rare Viennese Globustisch work table is an impressive piece. Its perfectly spherical shape, crafted in rosewood inlaid with fruitwood, eloquently attests to the cabinetmaker’s skill when viewed from any direction – literally in the round. Its ingenious construction incorporates a secret button to open the top, revealing an array of drawers and compartments intended to hold a woman’s needlework accoutrements. The work table belonged to Lady Augusta Young, whose husband was Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia from 1848 to 1854.

    Barry Patton, Tarnanthi Writer & Researcher

  • [Book] AGSA 500.