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2006

2007

  • We acquired this object.

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2025

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Staircase Model (France)

This is a staircase model. It is dated late 18th century and we acquired it in 2007. Its medium is pear (wood), brass wire, bone. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

This fine triple-height staircase model is similar to one designed by Robert Adam for 20 Portman Place in London. The model’s sustaining pillars ensure stability in place of the walls used in Adam’s staircase. The pillars are joined in a manner characteristic of a builder rather than a compagnonnage-trained cabinetmaker.

This object was donated by Eugene V. Thaw. It is credited Gift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw.

Our curators have highlighted 8 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Wiggle Stool
  • cut corregated cardboard, masonite.
  • The Linda and Irwin R. Berman Stool Collection.
  • 2008-32-3
  •

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 75 x 67.3 x 67 cm (29 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 26 3/8 in.)

Cite this object as

Staircase Model (France); pear (wood), brass wire, bone; H x W x D: 75 x 67.3 x 67 cm (29 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 26 3/8 in.); Gift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw; 2007-45-11

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Made to Scale: Staircase Masterpieces—The Eugene & Clare Thaw Gift.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18703475/ |title=Staircase Model (France) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=5 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>