Biedermeier Showcase, Walnut and Mahogany, Austria 19th Century

Biedermeier Showcase, Walnut and Mahogany, Austria 19th Century

Features

Style: Biedermeier (1815-1848)

Age: 19th Century / 1801 - 1900

Origin: Austria

Main essence: Mahogany , Walnut

Description

Austrian Biedermeier showcase. Supported by four feet of which the frontal ones are lathered; pillars have scrolls inlaid on. Two frontal walnut veneered dooors with glass surmounted by a wavy walnut burl veneered drawer. Mahogany veneered top and sides. The showcase had been restored several times and is in fair conditions.

Product Condition:
Very good condition. Wear consistent with age and use. It may have been restored by an expert.

Dimensions (cm):
Height: 136
Width: 89
Depth: 41

Additional Information

Style: Biedermeier (1815-1848)

The Biedermeier style is a style that characterizes German and Austrian furniture between approximately 1815 (Congress of Vienna) and 1848 (beginning of the revolutionary movements).
Its main features are essentiality and functionality, and the home destination.
Biedermeier first took on a derogatory connotation: the word derives from "Bieder", or "simpleton" and from "Meir", one of the most common German surnames at the time and was the name of a "simpleton" character in a comedy of Ludwig Eichrodt.
This term meant the conservative petty bourgeois, concerned only with his own family reality.
Even if in a derogatory way, the term represents exactly the new socio-political situation in which the bourgeois is forced or resigned to renounce the yearnings for democracy and freedom.
The center of life therefore becomes the home, no longer characterized by unbridled luxury but comfortable and practical.
Consequently, Biedermeier furniture are functional, comfortable and easily achievable products.
The style is an evolution of the Empire style towards greater simplification, without ornamental and antique elements, lighter, linear and curved shapes, lighter colors.
Find out more about the Biedermeier style with our insights:
Biedermeier, the comfortable and practical style
Biedermeier, when a style d 'furniture transforms an environment
FineArt: group eight Biedermeier applique, Vienna, 1820-1830
FineArt: Biedermeier Reifenluster, Vienna, c. 1820-1830 - Viennese chandelier

Age: 19th Century / 1801 - 1900

19th Century / 1801 - 1900

Main essence:

Mahogany

It is one of the most precious and sought-after woods in cabinet making. It was discovered in Central America around 1600 and began to be imported to England in the 1700s. Much appreciated for its hardness and indestructibility, it became widespread following the blocking of walnut exports from France in 1720 and the consequent elimination of English import duties on mahogany from the colonies in America and India. The most valuable version comes from Cuba, but it became very expensive. At the end of the 18th century it began to be used also in France in Louis XVI, Directory and Empire furniture, its diffusion declined starting from when Napoleon, in 1810, forbade its import. It was generally used in the manufacture of elegant furniture, due to its characteristics and beautiful grain.

Walnut

Walnut wood comes from the plant whose botanical name is juglans regia , probably originally from the East but very common in Europe. Light or dark brown in color, it is a hard wood with a beautiful grain, widely used in antique furniture. It was the main essence in Italy throughout the Renaissance and later had a good diffusion in Europe, especially in England, until the advent of mahogany. It was used for solid wood furniture and sometimes carvings and inlays, its only big limitation is that it suffers a lot from woodworm. In France it was widely used more than anything else in the provinces. In the second half of the eighteenth century its use decreased significantly because mahogany and other exotic woods were preferred.