Desk
R. J. Horner and Company
c. 1890
Medium
Maple and bird's-eye maple
Dimensions
174.6 × 46.4 × 67.3 cm (68 3/4 × 17 1/2 × 26 1/2 in.)
Classification
furniture
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
180489
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Imported into the United States as early as the 1860s, East Asian bamboo furniture inspired the manufacture of Western goods such as this faux-bamboo desk and chair (2003.11). Such wares reached the height of their popularity after the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, where Japan’s display of bamboo furniture garnered much public attention. As the demand for Asian-inspired decorative arts and interiors intensified, American companies began using local materials such as this maple to prod...