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Not currently on display at the V&A

Cabinet

1876 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This cabinet was made at about the time of the Philadelphia Centennial exhibition of 1876 in which Kimbel and Cabus exhibited an entire drawing room, complete with fittings and furniture of ebonised cherry. The cabinet is architecturally inspired and is typical of Kimbel & Cabus's 'modern Gothic' style of furniture, also known in America as 'Eastlake' after the English design pundit Charles Eastlake (1836-1906).

The incised linear decoration and geometric patterns can be found on almost every one of their cabinets, and the incised and coppered brass hinges are also very typical of their work. This cabinet features an inset painted and gilded panel of two cupids, but set-in tiles made by the Minton-Hollins company of England and marquetry panels were often used on such cabinets instead. Embellishments, such as tiles or painted panels, were frequently added to British furniture of the time but were rarely used on American pieces.


Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Cabinet
  • Keys
Materials and techniques
Ebonised cherrywood, with gilt and painted decoration, coppered metal fittings, mirrors and red plush lining
Brief description
Cabinet, 1876, New York City, Kimbel and Cabus, ebonised wood with painted panels depicting scenes of night and day
Physical description
Ebonised wood cabinet with various compartments and two painted cupboard doors. One painted panel depicts 'Night' and shows an owl in an oak tree, a bat in the sky, and a backdrop of a crescent moon and stars. The other panel depicts 'Day' and shows two birds nesting in a tree with the sun's rays in the background.
Dimensions
  • Height: 207.9cm
  • Width: 134cm
  • Depth: 49.8cm
Gallery label
  • Europe and America 1800-1900, room 101 CABINET About 1876 Kimbel & Cabus exhibited an entire drawing room at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, complete with fittings and furniture of ebonised cherry. This cabinet is typical of their 'modern Gothic' style of furniture. The style is also known in America as 'Eastlake', after the English writer Charles Eastlake, whose Hints on Household Tastewas published in America in 1872. USA, New York; manufactured by Kimbel & Cabus Ebonised cherry wood, with gilded and painted decoration; coppered metal fittings; mirror; red plush lining (05/08/2015)
  • CABINET W.50-1984 'American and European Art and Design 1800-1900' This cabinet closely resembles one dated 1876 and priced at $75, photographed in Kimbel and Cabus's records, now in the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York. Its style was known in America as 'Eastlake' after the English design pundit Charles Eastlake (1836-1906). It is possible that the painted panels may have been supplied by the English designer, J. Moyr Smith. That in the centre was until recently covered over with dark paint.(1987-2006)
  • Europe and America 1800-1900, room 101 CABINET About 1876 USA, New York; manufactured by Kimbel & Cabus Ebonised cherry wood, with gilded and painted decoration; coppered metal fittings; mirror; red plush lining Museum no. W.50-1984 Kimbel & Cabus exhibited an entire drawing room at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, complete with fittings and furniture of ebonised cherry. This cabinet is typical of their 'modern Gothic' style of furniture. The style is also known in America as 'Eastlake', after the English writer Charles Eastlake, whose Hints on Household Taste was published in America in 1872.(2006)
Object history
In the late 1980s the cabinet was displayed in the gallery of Art and Design in Europe and America 1800-1900, where it supported a bust of Mephistopheles by the Russian sculptor Mark Antokolski (A.9-1982).
Summary
This cabinet was made at about the time of the Philadelphia Centennial exhibition of 1876 in which Kimbel and Cabus exhibited an entire drawing room, complete with fittings and furniture of ebonised cherry. The cabinet is architecturally inspired and is typical of Kimbel & Cabus's 'modern Gothic' style of furniture, also known in America as 'Eastlake' after the English design pundit Charles Eastlake (1836-1906).

The incised linear decoration and geometric patterns can be found on almost every one of their cabinets, and the incised and coppered brass hinges are also very typical of their work. This cabinet features an inset painted and gilded panel of two cupids, but set-in tiles made by the Minton-Hollins company of England and marquetry panels were often used on such cabinets instead. Embellishments, such as tiles or painted panels, were frequently added to British furniture of the time but were rarely used on American pieces.
Bibliographic reference
Art & Design in Europe and America 1800-1900. Introduction by Simon Jervis (London: The Herbert Press, 1987), pp. 116, 120
Collection
Accession number
W.50-1984

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Record createdJune 1, 2001
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