Sofa
Artist
Herter Brothers
Artist
American
Dateabout 1868
Mediumwalnut; unidentified wood veneer inlay; leather upholstery on back (seat replaced by synthetic material)
Dimensions136 x 202.2 x 69.8 cm (53 9/16 x 79 5/8 x 27 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineGift of Lena J. Furey
Object number1984.1
Label TextThe Renaissance-Revival style, popular in America from about 1850 to 1880, borrowed heavily from Neoclassical, Egyptian, and Renaissance motifs. Fine furniture of this period is usually massive and architectural in feeling. Indeed, many of the striking motifs of this sofa are also found in the mansion for which it was made: the palm-inlaid balusters between the back panels match those in the grand staircase; the faces are similar to those carved into upstairs fireplace mantles; and griffins, like those under the arms here, are depicted on doors.
The house still stands in Norwalk, Connecticut, where it was built by one of America’s first millionaires, LeGrand Lockwood (1820–1872). Called in 1868 “the most sumptuous private home built in America up to that time…a prelude to the opulence of the Gilded Age,” the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion is today open to the public.ProvenanceLena J. Furey, Auburn, MA;On View
Not on view
