John Henry Belter
Étagerè

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Étagerè
Datec. 1850–1860
Made inNew York , New York, United States
MediumRosewood and rosewood veneer; ash, marble, and mirror glass
Dimensions96 1/2 × 54 1/4 × 16 3/4 in. (245.1 × 137.8 × 42.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.71.41
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

In the middle of the nineteenth century, a new form of parlor furniture, called the étagère by the French and the whatnot by the English, was introduced into fashionable American households. Characteristically, the form includes many small shelves, often backed with mirror glass, designed for the display of “articles of virtu—bouquets of flowers, scientific curiosities, or whatever,” or, in other words, the eclectic array of knickknacks, intended to reflect the character and taste of the owner, that so typify Victorian interiors. The Bayou Bend example combines the concept of a parlor cabinet below with the étagère shelves above. The small, semicircular shelves above are supported by laminated floral scrolls that relate to documented work by Belter’s shop, as does the floral and fruit carving of the arched crest. 

Technical notes: Rosewood, rosewood veneer; marble, mirror glass, ash. 

Related examples: An identical example was sold at auction in New Orleans (Antiques and The Arts Weekly, December 19, 1980, p. 85); another that is identical except for the crest, which is carved with a bust, sold at auction in New Jersey (Antiques and The Arts Weekly, June 8, 1990, p. 29). 

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.



Provenance[M. S. Rau, Inc., New Orleans]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1971; given to MFAH, 1971.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Étagère
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; black walnut, mahogany, eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, undetermined exotic wood (possibly eucalyptus), marble, and mirrored glass
B.81.9.10
Center Table
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash, black walnut, and marble
B.81.9.9
Sofa
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and black walnut
B.81.9.1
Sofa
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and black walnut
B.81.9.2
Armchair
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and black walnut
B.81.9.3
Side Chair
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and black walnut
B.81.9.5
Armchair
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and black walnut
B.81.9.4
Side Chair
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and black walnut
B.81.9.6
Side Chair
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and black walnut
B.81.9.8
Side Chair
John Henry Belter
1855
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and black walnut
B.81.9.7
Meridienne or Couch
John Henry Belter
c. 1850–1860
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash
B.71.57
Center Table
c. 1850–1860
Rosewood and rosewood veneer; ash and marble
B.70.42