Adolph Kempen
Desk

MakerAmerican, born Prussia, 1844–1885
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Desk
Datec. 1870–1880
Made inAustin, Texas, United States
MediumMahogany, pine, maple, black walnut, and cherry
Dimensions58 7/8 × 40 3/4 × 26 1/2 in. (149.5 × 103.5 × 67.3 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of William J. Hill
Object numberB.2012.38
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Texas Room
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Austin cabinetmaker Adolph Kempen created this desk with an exuberant mixture of styles characteristic of the Victorian era. Combining Rococo Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Gothic Revival details with a prominent five-pointed Texas star, he gave a strong local flavor to a piece of furniture that reflected national fashions. The desk was offered as a prize in raffle in about 1875, and it stayed in the winner’s family for over 100 years before a Houston collector acquired it.

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.


ProvenanceWon at a raffle by Ernest Von Rosenberg, Austin; by descent to his son Ernest Von Rosenberg (d. 1966); by descent to his nephew Hermann Von Rosenberg (1926–2011), Baytown, Texas; purchased by William J. Hill (1934–2018), Houston, 2009; loaned to MFAH, 2009; given to MFAH, 2012.
Exhibition History"A Texas Legacy: Selections from the William J. Hill Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 2, 2016–January 2, 2017.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Desk
c. 1700–1730
Black walnut, undetermined burl veneer, and eastern white pine; eastern white pine, black walnut, yellow-poplar, cherry, Cuban oyster wood (Gymnanthes lucida), and chestnut
B.69.42
Card Table
c. 1820–1830
Grained, painted, and gilded mahogany, and birch; mahogany veneer on eastern white pine with black walnut banding, ash, eastern white pine, cherry, and original brass casters
B.68.31
Center Table
Deming & Bulkley
c. 1825–1835
Mahogany; eastern white pine, cherry, paint, and gilt
B.69.526
Card Table
c. 1740–1750
Mahogany; mahogany, black walnut, soft maple, eastern white pine, and basswood
B.69.132
Desk and Bookcase
c. 1745–1780
Mahogany; mahogany, eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, and black cherry
B.69.363
scan from file photograph
c. 1740–1795
Black walnut; black walnut, sweetgum, cherry, and soft maple
B.69.251
Tall Clock
Edward Spalding
c. 1765–1785
Mahogany; chestnut, white oak, black cherry, eastern white pine, southern yellow pine, and cherry
B.59.83
High Chest of Drawers
c. 1750–1780
Black-mangrove; black cherry, Atlantic white cedar, black walnut, yelow-poplar, and eastern white pine
B.69.64
Looking Glass
Charles del Vecchio
c. 1830–1837
Mahogany and cherry; eastern white pine, soft maple, brass, and mirror glass
B.90.16
Square Piano
Gibson & Davis
c. 1810–1815
Painted and gilded mahogany, mahogany veneer, satinwood, soft maple, and holly; yellow-poplar, holly, beech, basswood, cherry, soft maple, eastern white pine, hemlock, mahogany, and ash
B.57.4
Easy Chair
c. 1730–1760
Black walnut and soft maple; soft maple, hard maple, beech, and sylvestris pine
B.69.252
High Chest
c. 1700–1725
Black walnut, burled walnut veneer, soft maple, and aspen; eastern white pine, hemlock, and birch
B.69.43