Lowboy
Type of 18th-century American dressing table
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A lowboy is an American collectors term for one type of dressing table.[1] It is a small table with one or two rows of drawers, so called in contradistinction to (and designed to match[2]) the tallboy or highboy chest of drawers.[3][4]
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.[4]
Another term for a dressing table equipped with mirrors is vanity and is used to apply makeup and other fashion accessories.[5]
