Online: Vanities: The History of
The Dressing Table
Armand-Albert Rateau (French, 1882–1938)
Dressing table, ca. 1925
Bronze, basalt, and mirror glass
551⁄2 x 311⁄2 x 155⁄8in
For this Rateau dressing table
antiquity was again the inspiration,
in this case Pompeii, although the bird motif
(visible at center, below the mirror) may derive
from Persian miniature painting. Rateau made more
than one version of the table. The first, from 1921,
was intended for the Palacio de Liria,
the Duchess of Alba’s home
in Madrid. The designer exhibited yet another model
in the aptly named
Pavillon de l’Élégance at the 1925 exposition.
Seddon, sons and Shackleton (London, 1793–1800)
Dressing table, ca. 1790–95
Mahogany, glass, and ivory
58 x 323⁄4 x 16in
During the second half of the eighteenth century dressing
tables became more varied to include a number of
specialized forms for men, such as the shaving stand...
This example by Seddon, Sons and Shackleton,
the foremost furniture makers of their time,
is in the British Sheraton style, pop-ular in the
1790s and early 1800s. Based on the
French Louis XVI style,
Sheraton furniture is generally characterized by
graceful, rectilinear forms ornamented with refined
Neoclassical motifs in contrasting veneer wood inlays,
especially satinwood, as well as dainty painted
flowers and other themes. The stand contains four
fitted wood boxes for the storage of shaving supplies
and other implements. Within a semicircular glazed
compartment the maker’s proud name has been inlaid
in veneered woods.