William Otto Glosnop
Sewing Table

MakerAmerican, born Germany, 1835–1895
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Sewing Table
Date1877
Commissioned forAustin, Texas, United States
Made inClarksville, Texas, United States
MediumWalnut, cedar, palm (Arecaceae), unidentified woods, and porcelain
Dimensions34 1/2 x 26 1/2 in. diameter (87.6 x 67.3 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of William J. Hill
Object numberB.2017.1
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Texas Room
On view

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

William Otto Glosnop was a cabinetmaker, carpenter, and architect who settled in Clarksville in Red River County in far northeast Texas. He entered this table in a Texas state fair in Austin in 1877, where it won a prize for being the best center table made in Texas of Texas wood. One look shows that he spared no effort to make his entry a show-stopper. Glosnop included a dazzling marquetry top, a laminated and turned central column, and whimsical spiny dolphin figures on the legs to display his impressive range of woodworking techniques.

Adapted from Lonn Taylor and David B. Warren. Texas Furniture: The Cabinetmakers and Their Work, 1840–1880. Vol. 1, rev. ed. Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, 2012.


ProvenanceBy descent within the Glosnop family, 1983; [John R. Sauls, Tyler, Texas]; purchased by William J. Hill (1934–2018), Houston, c. 1986; given to MFAH, 2017.
Exhibition History"Made in Texas: Art, Life and Culture: 1845–1900," Beeville Art Museum, Texas, September 20, 2014–January 10, 2015.

"A Texas Legacy: Selections from the William J. Hill Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 2, 2016–January 2, 2017.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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