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1855, Vienna

1855, Vienna

Identifier
2008.452a, b
Transfer of custody
Victoria and Albert Museum
Acquisition
Purchase, The James Parker Charitable Foundation Gift, 2008
Collection
Material
Technique
Depiction
Dimension
105 cm (height)
87 cm (width)
Production time
Production place
Type of object

Description

The overall shape of this nearly nine-foot tall prayer bench or prie dieu with its towering spires, pointed arches, and slender clustered columns is based on medieval ecclesiastical architecture. As such it exemplifies the Gothic Revival style fashionable in Europe during the middle of the nineteenth century. Its surface decoration, however, consists of colorful wood micromosaic, a technique usually reserved for small objects. This ambitious piece was commissioned by the firm of Stammer & Breul to be shown at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris.