A Viennese Enamel Inlaid Ebonized Bureau Cabinet, Circa 1880

Related literature: Christopher Payne, European Furniture of the 19th Century, London 2013, p. 300, for the illustration of a virtually identical model

The whole appearance of this Bureau Cabinet shows the interest of cabinet makers in the old Austrian Empire to produce real works of art, which displayed all their skills, and which they wanted to be seen as related to the fine arts rather than as purely decorative pieces of furniture. The baroque style with its use of many mythological and religious objects offered an appropriate basis for this. The enamels of this piece are typical for the works of art produced in the regions of Vienna, Prague and Bohemia. All these areas are renowned for glass production, a related technique,. Many of the goldsmiths were well versed in the art of enamelling. Most distinctive are the works by Viennese artists. The best known makers were Hermann Boehm, Simon Gruenwald, Ludwig Pollizer and Hermann Ratzersdorfer.