Wine Cooler
Artist/maker unknown, American. Made for Simon Gratz, American, 1773 - 1839.
Geography:
Made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
Date:
c. 1825-1830Medium:
Mahogany and mahogany veneer with brass and ebony inlay, leadDimensions:
29 1/2 x 28 1/4 x 23 inches (74.9 x 71.8 x 58.4 cm)Curatorial Department:
American Art
1925-76-2Credit Line:
Gift of Simon Gratz in memory of Caroline S. Gratz, 1925
Made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
Date:
c. 1825-1830Medium:
Mahogany and mahogany veneer with brass and ebony inlay, leadDimensions:
29 1/2 x 28 1/4 x 23 inches (74.9 x 71.8 x 58.4 cm)Curatorial Department:
American Art
* Gallery 107, American Art, first floor
Accession Number:1925-76-2Credit Line:
Gift of Simon Gratz in memory of Caroline S. Gratz, 1925
This wine cooler was made for Simon Gratz (American, 1773-1839), a successful Philadelphia businessman. Many American cabinetmakers imported panels with brass inlay—also called boulle work in honor of Frenchman André-Charles Boulle, who perfected the technique—to adorn the furniture they produced, as seen here.Additional information:
Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the CollectionsThis richly decorated suite of dining room furnishings represents the highest development of ornamental inlay and carving found on Philadelphia furniture of the Empire style, which was popular in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Made for Simon Gratz, a successful Philadelphia businessman, the sideboard with its two knife boxes and the cellarette, or wine cooler, display an impressive scale and lavish design that demonstrate the stylistic sophistication and refined tastes of the city's leading families. The ornate panels of brass and ebony inlay were imported from Birmingham, England, and set into surrounding veneers to create decorative surfaces of a type rarely seen in American furniture. Jack L. Lindsey, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections (1995), p. 275.
* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.
