Minneapolis Institute of Art

Dressing bureau

Crawford Riddell's Journeymen Cabinet Makers

Date

c. 1844

Medium

Rosewood, mahogany, tulip, marble, bronze, glass

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

During the mid-19th century, southern planters and industrialists often bought directly from manufacturers in New York and Philadelphia while vacationing, visiting family, or conducting business in the East. Some purchases were quite extensive, such as the thirteen-piece Gothic revival bedroom suite Daniel and Martha Turnbull bought for Rosedown, their plantation home in St. Francisville, Louisiana. It included this bureau, with spires, arches, and tracery derived from ecclesiastical architecture. The telescopic form of the mirror supports and chest is unparalleled in American Gothic revival furniture. The suite had been commissioned as the White House bedroom furniture for Henry Clay, had he won the presidency in 1844. However, he was defeated by James K. Polk, who became the 11th President of the United States of America. Americas

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