Victorian side table inset with ambrotype portrait of a couple. British. 1850s
This oval table, which is embellished with hand-painted aluminum foil — high-Victorian geegaw — resembles a reverse painting on glass. When vertical, the tabletop appears to be an oversize black lacquer frame set onto a 3-legged base. This stolid piece was a visual reminder of the respect accorded to the family patriarch and matriarch, who are depicted on an ambrotype (a one-of-a-kind photograph on glass), and their authority in daily life.
