Dressing and sewing table

The lyra-shaped double plinth is tied by curved stretchers of many parts. The horizontal frieze conceals two drawers. They can be opened by a spring mechanism, when a secret button is pressed. The right drawer stores the tools for sewing, and the left one hides the accessories for dressing. The top is framed by foliage: its centre shows the sitting figure of Fortune. The drawer panels are decorated with figures of Amor, one sharpening his arrow, the other hammering. The allegorical female figure was made after a marked piece by Franz Detler, a coin engraver from Vienna. The side of the mirrored top of the left- hand drawer shows the following calligraphic inscription in intarsia: TOROK KAROLY ASZ VESZPREMBEN [Karoly Torok C(abinet) M(aker) in Veszprem]. This inscription is supplemented with a note scribed on the wooden plate under the inside mirror: „Keszitette Torok Karoly, Veszpremben, Die 8 Julli (sic!), 1845.” (made by K.T. in Veszprem). Little is known of the life and activity of Karoly Torok. His father, Mihaly Torok, was also a cabinetmaker in Veszprem therefore, he is likely to have learnt the trade in his father's workshop. The double marking of the maker's name and the precise dating suggest that the table described above was the masterwork of Karoly Torok, which is corroborated by his age at the time of the production.