There are 3 other images of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

 

Object Timeline

-0001

1901

  • We acquired this object.

2006

2015

2018

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Design for a Surtout de Table (Centerpiece)

This is a Drawing. It is dated early 19th century and we acquired it in 1901. Its medium is pen and black ink, brush and watercolor, gouache, graphite on off-white wove paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

The colorful hardstone vessels seen in this surtout de table design suggest a Russian source, but the use of circular stands and rimmed gilt-metal are stylistically similar to Italian and French examples. Much as Bernini made his table designs to resemble sculpture-laden piazzas, so too did later Italian designers of tablescapes include key forms arranged as if in a public space.

It is credited Museum purchase through gift of various donors.

Its dimensions are

12.1 x 32.1 cm (4 3/4 x 12 5/8 in.) Mat: 35.6 × 45.7 cm (14 × 18 in.)

It has the following markings

Watermark: four letters TM[orX?]AN. --previously listed as Cyrillic, but letters do not appear Russian --JAS 8/28/2018 Verso: Stamped in black ink: Museum for Decorative Arts Cooper Hewitt

It is inscribed

Verso: Inscribed in graphite across sheet: p. 8 / R[B?]ig [j?] ht. 3rd row.

Cite this object as

Drawing, Design for a Surtout de Table (Centerpiece); Italy; pen and black ink, brush and watercolor, gouache, graphite on off-white wove paper; 12.1 x 32.1 cm (4 3/4 x 12 5/8 in.) Mat: 35.6 × 45.7 cm (14 × 18 in.); Museum purchase through gift of various donors; 1901-39-2156

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18114187/ |title=Drawing, Design for a Surtout de Table (Centerpiece) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>