EE Meyer for Binnehuis Imbuia Dressing Table with Full-Length Mirror, South Africa, c. 1960s
Two Cabinets, One Long Reflection
A low imbuia dressing table with its original full-length mirror, made by EE Meyer for Binnehuis in the 1960s.
The composition is what sets it apart. Two drawer banks stand either side of a recessed centre, and between them the piece steps down: a shelf beneath the mirror, a single shallow drawer with a turned knob, and an open shelf at floor level. Above it all, the tall, slender mirror rises on a slim imbuia frame to just over two metres overall, drawing the eye up through the gap the cabinetry deliberately leaves open.
The drawer fronts are cut with deep sculpted pulls, carved directly into the wood, both banks carries a particularly dramatic run of figured imbuia. Open any drawer and the quality continues inside, with finger-jointed boxes in a lighter contrasting timber. The base stands on turned tapered legs.
Because the base sits low and the mirror runs nearly full length, it serves as a dressing mirror for standing as naturally as a dressing table. The mirror lifts off, and the base then stands on its own as a low console in a hallway or entrance.
Carefully restored and refinished in our workshop.
A rare heirloom piece that will last a lifetime. Beautifully designed and made, and real collector’s items.
E.E. Meyer has become one of the most collected names in South African mid-century furniture.
Maker Profile — EE Meyer for Binnehuis
A true treasure that encapsulates the essence of South Africa's most sought-after mid-century furniture manufacturer. With a legacy rooted in timeless craftsmanship and iconic design, EE Meyer creations have become highly sought after. Owning an EE Meyer piece means not only acquiring a beautiful work of art but also preserving a valuable piece of South African design history.
EE Meyer was directed by Gerhardt Meyer from 1966, Meyer was the South African master of understated mid-century elegance, and his designs became synonymous with a distinctly South African interpretation of modernist furniture: sober, clean, and generous in their use of solid imbuia.
Imbuia — is a hardwood native to the forests of southern Brazil and historically used extensively in South African cabinetmaking. Deeply figured, warm in tone, and extraordinarily durable, it is the material that defines the EE Meyer aesthetic.
The Binnehuis furniture stores were located in Cape Town, Stellenbosch Somerset-West, Newlands, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg and were owned by a Dutch businessman and his wife, Mr and Mrs van Ewijck, who moved between South Africa and the Netherlands. It seems they were most prolific during the 1960s.
EE Meyer for Binnehuis pieces are among the most collectible examples of South African mid-century design.
Imbuia is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Vintage pieces from before 1992 are legally permitted for sale.
