Designs for Chinoiserie Furniture: Three Tables and a Prie-Dieu 1795 - 1805

This sheet of paper holds designs for four pieces of ‘chinoiserie’ furniture, drawn with graphite by an anonymous artist. Despite its delicate appearance, the graphite reveals a lot about the world of 18th-century furniture making. At this time, fashionable taste embraced East Asian motifs, and these pieces would likely have been made of dark-stained wood, with gilded lacquer-work. But before any of that could happen, the design had to be worked out. Graphite, as a readily available and erasable medium, was perfect for this purpose. These designs, which include tables and a prie-dieu or prayer desk, speak volumes about the labor that went into the production process. While the designer may not have been the one to execute the furniture, their vision set the stage for skilled artisans to shape, carve, and finish these elegant pieces, ready to be bought and enjoyed by wealthy consumers. The use of graphite is a reminder that design sits at the intersection of fine art and craft, requiring artistic skill and knowledge of materials.