Console table with candlestick

About this artwork

Research in Progress

Art Historical Context

This elegant console table with candlestick, crafted around 1795 by Italian artist and designer Giuseppe Barberi (6–1809), exemplifies the refined furniture-making traditions of late 18th-century Italy. Barberi, active in Rome during a period of neoclassical revival, specialized in architectural ornaments and decorative objects that blended functionality with sophisticated ornamentation. Console tables like this one—typically wall-mounted with a shallow shelf—served both practical and aesthetic purposes in grand interiors, often supporting candles or vases to illuminate and adorn palaces or salons. As a piece of furniture, it highlights the artistry of woodworking and metalwork from the era, where pieces were designed to evoke antiquity while suiting contemporary tastes. Acquired through museum purchase with gifts from various donors and the Eleanor G. Hewitt Fund, this work now graces the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, bridging European design influence with American curatorial interests. Though research continues, it invites visitors to appreciate how everyday objects became statements of cultural elegance in revolutionary times. (Word count: 178)