A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration

1819

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Romanticism Early 19th Century Architectural

Dominant colour

A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration is a 1819 by George Smith, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: George Smith
When & what style?: 1819 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This drawing shows a long wooden sideboard with fancy carvings and gold-green columns. On top of each end sits a small statue of a man holding a scroll, dressed in a simple tunic. The wood is a warm reddish-brown, and the whole piece looks heavy and detailed, like something from a grand house. The statues on top are meant to look like ancient Greek or Roman figures, but they’re actually just decorative. This kind of mix of old styles with new furniture was popular in the early 1800s. If you like this style, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for more pieces like it.

The story of this work

Overview

A sideboard design was printed as part of George Smith’s 1808 publication *A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration*, which contains 158 engraved plates. The work reproduces Plate 92 from the original 1808 volume, first issued by J. Taylor at the Architectural Library in London. An earlier copy on Whatman paper, dated 1804, is held in the National Art Library. The design is also recorded in the Staatliche Kunstbibliothek Berlin’s catalog of ornament prints.

Read the full account in the museum source.