Sofa in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 2009

Sofa
J.H. Belter & Co. (active 1844-67)
New York City, 1850-60
Rosewood

Accession # 1999.396

German immigrant John Henry Belter was New York City's most important cabinetmaker producing Rococo Revival style furniture for the luxury market. Belter garnered an international reputation for the suites of drawing-room furniture he manufactured, many of laminated and deeply carved rosewood. This large and exhuberant sofa, embellished with bountiful carved bouquets of naturalistic blooms, epitomizes his best work. The modern damask covering was chosen because fragments of original dark red silk were found on the sofa's frame during recent conservation.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.