Dresser

At the end of the eighteenth century, Neoclassicism dominated
throughout Europe. Furniture changed to meet the new requirements of families,
who were commissioning smaller furniture, better suited to use in all the rooms
of the palazzi, even those once used
only for entertaining. New
types of furniture were created, such as desks, tables and bedside tables. When the Viennese court moved to Milan,
the city became an important artistic centre, where craftsmen could open thriving
workshops that turned out pieces of exceptional quality. Notable among them was Giuseppe Maggiolini, creator of some
of the finest furniture of his age. This dresser with inlay
decoration is considered one of his masterpieces and was probably intended to be
one of a pair. To
decorate the central panel, Maggiolini used a cartoon (later reused) drawn by a
young Francesco Appiani. To inlay the decorations of vines - mostly acanthus -
along the upper edge and the ribbons intertwined with studs, he used engravings
of ornamentation, available in French catalogues that were disseminated
throughout Europe from the second half of the eighteenth century. For the band
below the chest of drawers, Maggiolini used a preparatory drawing conserved in
the Fondo Maggioliniano of Castello
Sforzesco. The piece has undergone numerous restorations that have altered
its original structure, for example, in the marble top and in the bronze
handles.