Wenzel Carl Wolfgang Blumenbach:

For many years, it was sought to enhance the exterior of furniture through gilded and bronzed carving … by applying quantities of mounts and ornamentation; however, since 1823 and 1824 this form of ornament has become less common, and Viennese taste has largely proscribed it, demanding in its place a purer form of cabinet-making. Since that time, Viennese furniture has become heavier and more solid, replacing the previous showy decoration with more suitable and nobler forms, with smooth and fluted columns … but [it] also requires more knowledge of draughtsmanship and more painstaking and skilful workers.