Design for a Table Centerpiece
Classification
metalwork
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase through gift of various donors and from Eleanor G. Hewitt Fund
Accession Number
1938-88-1437
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Giuseppe Barberi, a Italian architect and designer (6–1809), this *Design for a Table Center* between 1790 and 1795, during the height of Neoclassicism in Europe Working in Rome, Barberi specialized in architecture and decorative arts, blending ancient Roman motifs with elegant functionality. This preparatory design, classified as metalwork, likely a luxurious silver or gilt centerpiece for grand dining tables—a centerpiece of elite 18th-century European households, symbolizing wealth and refined taste. Though the exact medium remains unknown amid ongoing research, such designs were typically...