Cabinet Doors & Fronts · Victorian (Queen Anne, Eastlake)
Bruce Talbert Drawing Room Cabinet by Gillow & Co. (1871/72)
A walnut drawing room cabinet designed by Bruce James Talbert and made by Gillow & Co. in Lancaster, England, combining Gothic structure with inlaid panels of ebony, boxwood and thuya.
Design characteristics
Bruce Talbert was one of the most influential furniture designers of Victorian Britain, and his book Gothic Forms Applied to Furniture shaped the work of American makers too. This cabinet shows his approach: a rectilinear frame with visible structure, turned colonnettes, and flat panels decorated with inlay rather than deep carving. The center is open beneath a writing surface, flanked by cupboards with geometric inlaid doors. The design suits a home office built-in or a library wall where storage, a desk and display share one composition.
Classification
- Category
- Cabinet Doors & Fronts
- Motifs
- Incised geometric, Carved panel
- Date
- 1871/72
- Maker or designer
- Designed by Bruce James Talbert Scottish, active in England, 1838–1881 Made by Gillow & Company England, 1730–1974
- Recorded medium
- Walnut, ebony, boxwood, thuya, maple, and other woods, gilding, and lacquered brass mounts
- Dimensions
- 147.4 × 167.1 × 52.1 cm (58 × 65 3/4 × 20 1/2 in.); With sled: 172.8 × 193.1 × 76.2 cm (68 × 76 × 30 in.)
- Evidence
- Documented historical object
- Source
- Art Institute of Chicago
Architectural context
Carved mantels, layered trim and dark, decorative hardwoods. Britain and the United States · c. 1837–1901.
