Shaving Table, from Chippendale Drawings, Vol. II 1761

This “Shaving Table,” part of Thomas Chippendale’s Drawings, was made with pen and ink on paper. It’s a design, a concept, but a very specific one. Notice how the shaving table has a central basin and a hinged mirror? Chippendale was attentive to the rituals of grooming and personal care of the wealthy class. The design reflects a culture of elegance and refinement, where even mundane tasks like shaving were elevated through the art of design. But more than that, this drawing represents a whole economy. Chippendale was an entrepreneur, and his designs would have been realized in workshops, where specialized laborers – carvers, joiners, finishers – each played their part. The finished shaving table would have been a luxury commodity, reflecting the complex relations of labor, class, and consumption in 18th-century England. So next time you're shaving, think about the history embedded in this design. It challenges our notions of fine art, and reminds us that even the most functional objects are loaded with cultural meaning.