Cabinet
ca. 1875 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This cabinet is brightly painted in the Gothic Revival style. At the time that it was made, some furniture designers were inspired by medieval painted furniture. They saw this mostly in cathedrals and churches. The Gothic (or pointed) arches, the painted geometric ornament and the mythical creatures are typical of the Gothic Revival style. On the other hand, the real creatures, such as the squirrel and bird, are in the Anglo-Japanese style. These are framed in asymmetric reserves. Different influences are often mingled together in British 19th-century furniture, which creates an overall appearance that is unmistakably Victorian. We do not know who made or owned this cabinet.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pine, painted and carved |
| Brief description | Cabinet, wood carved and painted with birds and spiders, formerly of the Handley-Read collection, Britain, about 1875 |
| Physical description | Tall cabinet in two stages, with carved and painted decoration. The upper stage is divided into two section and has openings in form of two cusped arches, topped by a cresting in the form of two crocketed gables. The entire surface of the cabinet is painted. The back of the cupboard behind the arches is painted with diagonal trellis-work. The lower stage has two panelled doors above six bracketed legs. A spider in a web and a bird are painted on the two doors. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | CABINET
ENGLISH; about 1875
Deal, with carved and painted decoration
The grotesque creatures decorating this cabinet are similar to those in N. and G. Audsley's Polychromatic Decoration, 1882. They are Gothic as is the basic form of the cabinet with its crooked gables, but Anglo-Japanese asymmetry is also evident in the painted scenes of the lower doors.
From the Handley-Read Collection.(pre October 2000) |
| Object history | The cabinet combines influences from historic and non-European styles, typical of the later 19th century. Although its form and much of the geometric decoration is derived from Gothic architecture, some of the birds and animals are painted in a Japanese style. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This cabinet is brightly painted in the Gothic Revival style. At the time that it was made, some furniture designers were inspired by medieval painted furniture. They saw this mostly in cathedrals and churches. The Gothic (or pointed) arches, the painted geometric ornament and the mythical creatures are typical of the Gothic Revival style. On the other hand, the real creatures, such as the squirrel and bird, are in the Anglo-Japanese style. These are framed in asymmetric reserves. Different influences are often mingled together in British 19th-century furniture, which creates an overall appearance that is unmistakably Victorian. We do not know who made or owned this cabinet. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.24-1972 |
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| Record created | January 24, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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