A lowboy is an American collectors term for one type of dressing table. It is a small table with one or two rows of drawers, so called in contradistinction to (and designed to match) the tallboy or highboy chest of drawers.
History and description
Lowboys and tallboys were favorite pieces of the 18th century, both in England and in the United States; the lowboy was most frequently used as a dressing-table, but sometimes as a side-table. It is usually made of oak, walnut or mahogany, with the drawer-fronts mounted with brass pulls and escutcheons. The more elegant examples in the Queen Anne, early Georgian, and Chippendale styles often have cabriole legs, carved knees, and slipper or claw-and-ball feet. The fronts of some examples also are sculpted with the scallop-shell motif beneath the center drawer.5
Another term for a dressing table equipped with mirrors is vanity and is used to apply makeup and other fashion accessories.6
See also
Citations
General and cited references
- Campbell, Gordon (2006). The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts: (Two-volume Set). Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. pp. 61, 331, 479. ISBN 9780195189483.
- Loomis IV, Frank Farmer (2011). Antiques 101: A Crash Course in Everything Antique (2 ed.). Krause Publications. p. 59. ISBN 9781440227387.
- Gloag, John (1952). A Short Dictionary Of Furniture. Read Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4474-9772-1. OCLC 1099027952. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lowboy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 72.
External links
Look up lowboy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.- Dressing Tables collection at the Disseny Hub Barcelona
References
Lowboy is a "collectors term for a dressing table made in 18th century America often with a matching highboy (Campbell 2006, pp. 61, 479)". /wiki/Highboy ↩
Gloag 1952, Lowboy. - Gloag, John (1952). A Short Dictionary Of Furniture. Read Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4474-9772-1. OCLC 1099027952. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1099027952 ↩
Loomis IV 2011, p. 59. - Loomis IV, Frank Farmer (2011). Antiques 101: A Crash Course in Everything Antique (2 ed.). Krause Publications. p. 59. ISBN 9781440227387. https://books.google.com/books?id=vb9zFFCFWtQC&pg=PA59 ↩
Chisholm 1911, p. 17. - Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lowboy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ↩
Chisholm 1911, p. 17. - Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lowboy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ↩
Campbell 2006, pp. 331. - Campbell, Gordon (2006). The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts: (Two-volume Set). Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. pp. 61, 331, 479. ISBN 9780195189483. https://books.google.com/books?id=i3Od9bcGus0C&pg=PA61 ↩