The overall shape of this nearly nine-foot tall prayer bench or prie dieu with its towering spires, pointed arches, and slender clustered columns is based on medieval ecclesiastical architecture. As such it exemplifies the Gothic Revival style fashionable in Europe during the middle of the nineteenth century. Its surface decoration, however, consists of colorful wood micromosaic, a technique usually reserved for small objects. This ambitious piece was commissioned by the firm of Stammer & Breul to be shown at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris.