A matching desk and side table are illustrated in Josef Folnics‘ 1902 volume Innenräume und Hausrat Der Empire und Biedermeier-Zeit in Österreich-Ungarn. The two pieces were then in the collection of Countess Teréz Győry (1842-1936) at her family’s palace in Perkáta, southwest of Budapest. The Győry family was first mentioned in historical records in the mid-1500s as belonging to the middle nobility. In 1775 Empress Maria Theresa gave Ferenc Győry the estate of Perkáta, which then became the family’s seat and where the Győrys moved into an existing manor house dating from the mid-eighteenth century. Ferenc was eventually elevated to the rank of count by the Empress in 1785 and the building was then extended. In the 1820 the building was significantly updated and enlarged in the then-fashionable neoclassical style. Countess Teréz Győry grew up in the palace and, having no brother, inherited it when her father died. The Biedermeier interiors of the building matched the neoclassical outside and were probably considered restrained and modest at the time. In fact, Teréz herself was a modest woman who did not care for ostentation. A devout catholic and ardent supporter of the Habsburgs, she was very charitable and supported many conservative and religious, particularly Jesuit, causes. She was responsible for the foundation of and donated large sums for the building of a number of convents and churches in Budapest, where the Győry family also had residences.