19th Century Continental Biedermeier Period Figured Maple Table

Description

A scarce elegant and most distinctive Biedermeier Period (1815-1848) highly figured maple table.

Hand-made in Continental Europe in the early/mid-19th … more A scarce elegant and most distinctive Biedermeier Period (1815-1848) highly figured maple table.

Hand-made in Continental Europe in the early/mid-19th century, understated elegance and utilitarian design, this nearly 200 year old table is finished on all sides, so it can be placed anywhere in the room and serve a variety of different uses.

This rare antique, circa 1820s/1830s, exhibits influence of the important Austrian Biedermeier furniture designer Josef Danhauser (1780-1829), having a rectangular shaped top with canted corners and hand chamfered overhang, featuring highly figured maple veneer framed by intricate exotic woods cross-banding inlays and precious Birdseye maple and burl wood reserves, over a conforming frame fitted with single large concealed drawer with hand cut dovetail joinery, above turned baluster-form columns, rising on a pair of carved ovular shaped stretcher-joined yoke shaped supports.


PROVENANCE / ACQUISITION:

Property from the Collection of Joseph Minton, Dallas & Fort Worth, Texas

Acquired from highly reputable auction house Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas. Fine & Decorative Arts Showcase Auction catalog

DIMENSIONS: (approx)

29.5" High, 44" Wide, 25.75" Deep

Exceptionally versatile; As warm and attractive as it is useful, having the ideal size and proportions for a variety of different uses, including as a sofa table, hall console, library table, center table, dining room server, writing desk, or placed in the foyer - entry as a stunning yet reserved statement piece!


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

The early 19th century Biedermeier style marks the transitional period between Neoclassicism and Romanticism.

The Biedermeier period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848, during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and ended with the onset of the Revolutions of 1848.

Biedermeier was an influential German style of furniture design that evolved throughout the first half of the 19th-century, extending into Austria-Hungary, followed by Northern Europe, each creating their own styles, including Swedish and Scandinavian taste. Throughout the period, emphasis was kept upon clean lines, simplicity, and minimal ornamentation consistent with the basis of Biedermeier in utilitarian principles.

As the period progressed however, the style moved from the early rebellion against Romantic era elaborate ornamentation and fussiness to increasingly ornate commissions by a rising middle class, eager to show their newfound wealth, eventually giving rise to Wilhelminian and Victorian style, and the coinciding French Belle Époque era.

Stylistically, Biedermeier furniture softened the rigidity of the Empire style. The cabinetmakers used light, native woods instead of expensive imported woods and avoided the use of metal ornamentation.


CONDITION REPORT:

Great antique condition with beautifully aged mellow warm patina. Wear consistent with age and use.

Retaining charming original antique character marks throughout, including evidence of old powder-post beetle pinholes, past repairs and touchups, scattered losses, and minor imperfections, nothing that detracts from the aesthetics or functionality but only adds to the overall authenticity, elegant rustic warmth, and rich historical depth that can only be acquired over long periods of time.

Delivered cleaned, waxed with hand rubbed polished French patina finish, ready for immediate use and generational enjoyment! less