Important Biedermeier globe-shaped work table

Vienna, 1815
Ebonized maple veneer
Verde antico and gilt ram heads, hooves and detail
Interior: Birds-eye maple and maple veneer with partly ebonized detail and penwork decoration

This sought after collector’s piece, which is in pristine condition and in it’s original state, displays the finest Biedermeier workmanship. The ebonized maple veneered hemisphere is supported by three elegant inward-curved legs, decorated with gilt and verde antico ram heads and hooves.

To open, the upper hemisphere slides into the lower to reveal a spectacular interior with intricately fitted drawers and an illusionary stage-like space concealing secret compartments. This interior, which is decorated in Neoclassical style penwork, is identical to the inside of the globe table with satyrs at Buckingham Palace – which has been in the royal collection since the Biedermeier era, paying tribute to the appreciation of finest Viennese craftsmanship at the time.

A fabulous globe table of similar quality with lion heads is exhibited at the Bayrisches Nationalmuseum in Munich and illustrated on the cover of the important reference book by Georg Himmelheber. Another example is exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Lit: Kreisel/Himmelheber, Die Kunst des deutschen Moebels, Klassizismus Historismus Jugendstil, Munich, 1983, p. 93

Height: 37" Depth: 16.5" Diameter: 16.5"