Cabinet
1876-1877 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This cabinet was designed by Edward William Godwin (1833-1886) and made by either William Watt or Collinson & Lock in London in about 1876. Godwin's watercolour design for the cabinet is in his sketchbooks for the years 1870 to 1876, in the V&A's collection. It belonged to Godwin himself, and later to his son Edward Gordon Craig, from whose estate it was purchased by the Museum.
Known as the “Monkey Cabinet”, owing to its ivory handles which are in the form of monkeys, the cabinet is typical of the Anglo-Japanese style associated with Godwin’s designs. He often incorporated real Japanese artefacts into his work, shopping regularly in the 1870s at Liberty’s East Indian Art Warehouse on Regent Street, which stocked such items. This is possibly where the Japanese carved boxwood panels on the cabinet doors and the Japanese ivory handles came from. The handles are actually netsuke, a sort of Japanese dress ornament used as a weight to prevent purses worn over the belt from slipping off, that have been adapted.
Known as the “Monkey Cabinet”, owing to its ivory handles which are in the form of monkeys, the cabinet is typical of the Anglo-Japanese style associated with Godwin’s designs. He often incorporated real Japanese artefacts into his work, shopping regularly in the 1870s at Liberty’s East Indian Art Warehouse on Regent Street, which stocked such items. This is possibly where the Japanese carved boxwood panels on the cabinet doors and the Japanese ivory handles came from. The handles are actually netsuke, a sort of Japanese dress ornament used as a weight to prevent purses worn over the belt from slipping off, that have been adapted.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 7 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Walnut with carved boxwood, ivory handles and brass castorss |
| Brief description | walnut, with carved boxwood panels, ivory handles and brass castors; designed by E.W. Godwin for himself and probably made by William Watt, English about 1876 |
| Physical description | Walnut with carved boxwood panels, ivory handles and brass castors |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'E. W. Godwin' (This is written in ink, in an unidentified hand, on upper side of the left-hand drawer bottom.) |
| Gallery label |
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| Object history | This cabinet has become known as the 'Monkey Cabinet' because of the handles in the form of monkeys. The ivory handles are netsuke and both these, and the carved boxwood panels, may have been acquired at Liberty's East Indian Warehouse by Godwin.There is a design for the cabinet in Godwin's sketchbook (V&A P&D E.233-1963, fol.75). The design is towards the end of the sketchbook which covers the period 1870-1876. Godwin presumably intended the cabinet for himself and it was purchased from the estate of his son, Edward Gordon Craig, by the Museum. In 1968 this cabinet was exhibited in Gallery 119. |
| Summary | This cabinet was designed by Edward William Godwin (1833-1886) and made by either William Watt or Collinson & Lock in London in about 1876. Godwin's watercolour design for the cabinet is in his sketchbooks for the years 1870 to 1876, in the V&A's collection. It belonged to Godwin himself, and later to his son Edward Gordon Craig, from whose estate it was purchased by the Museum. Known as the “Monkey Cabinet”, owing to its ivory handles which are in the form of monkeys, the cabinet is typical of the Anglo-Japanese style associated with Godwin’s designs. He often incorporated real Japanese artefacts into his work, shopping regularly in the 1870s at Liberty’s East Indian Art Warehouse on Regent Street, which stocked such items. This is possibly where the Japanese carved boxwood panels on the cabinet doors and the Japanese ivory handles came from. The handles are actually netsuke, a sort of Japanese dress ornament used as a weight to prevent purses worn over the belt from slipping off, that have been adapted. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.34:1 to 7-1958 |
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| Record created | July 26, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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