Writing table
William Vile
ca. 1761 · Mahogany and oak; lacquered brass; green baize (modern) · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
With its unusual top, folding back to reveal a writing surface, this elegant table is attributed to the highly successful London furniture maker William Vile (1715–1767). The sparing use of carved ornament shows a great appreciation for the lustrous figured mahogany and the serpentine outline is the embodiment of the Rococo style stripped down to its very essence.
- Artist
- William Vile
- Date
- ca. 1761
- Medium
- Mahogany and oak; lacquered brass; green baize (modern)
- Culture
- British
- Department
- European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
- Credit line
- Purchase, Morris Loeb Bequest, by exchange, Bequest of Annie C. Kane, by exchange, Bequest of Mary Mandeville Johnston, from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. S. Johnston, by exchange, Gifts of Mrs. William C. Breed and Mr. and Mrs. Leslie R. Samuels, by exchange, The Helen and Carleton Macy Collection, Gift of Carleton Macy, by exchange, and Gift of Mrs. Paul Moore, by exchange, 2017
