Globe Work Table (Globustisch) (c. 1810–15): Art, History and Details

Globe Work Table (Globustisch) (c. 1810–15) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Work tables resembling globes were the usual form for a lady's sewing or writing table around 1800 in Austria. Combining moving parts, secret compartments, and highly finished decoration, these tables were also a way for the cabinetmaker to show off his skill. The tripod supports and temple-like architectural quality of both the exterior and interior decoration reflect the fashionable taste for neoclassical style, or Biedermeier as it was called in Austria, where Vienna was the center of such elaborate furniture production.

Object facts

• Title: Globe Work Table (Globustisch)
• Date: c. 1810–15
• Culture: Austria, Vienna
• Type: Furniture and woodwork
• Technique: Burl walnut veneer, mahogany, ebony, satinwood, gilt wood, painted wood; mirrored glass; metal
• Dimensions: Overall: 90.2 x 45.5 cm (35 1/2 x 17 15/16 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 2020.199

A detail from the museum

The top half of the globe rotates upward to reveal hidden compartments for sewing tools, threads, and unfinished fabric pieces.

Collection credit

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift

Further reading listed by the museum

• Ducamp, Emmanuel. "Austrian and French Decorative Arts." In The Keithley Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art, edited by Heather Lemonedes Brown, 46-49, 60-61,150-151,184-185. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2022.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.