Cabinet Doors & Fronts · Victorian (Queen Anne, Eastlake)
Herter Brothers Painted and Gilded Display Cabinet (c. 1883)
A Herter Brothers maple cabinet from about 1883 with a painted and gilded finish, bevelled glass doors and open display shelves set into an architectural, pagoda-like frame.
Design characteristics
This cabinet mixes closed storage, glazed doors and open shelving in one composition, which is why it is useful to anyone planning a display wall or china cabinet. Herter Brothers built it in maple, then painted and gilded the surface and lined the interior with silk velvet so collected objects would glow against a deep ground. The upper section steps back like a small building, with slender turned supports and a shaped cornice; the lower doors are flat panels with delicate gilt borders. It is a good example of how late-Victorian makers layered materials rather than relying on heavy carving. A modern version could keep the stepped silhouette and contrasting interior color while using a durable painted finish and LED-lit shelves.
Classification
- Category
- Cabinet Doors & Fronts
- Motifs
- Marquetry, Incised geometric
- Date
- ca. 1883
- Maker or designer
- Herter Brothers
- Recorded medium
- Maple, with painted and gilded surface, bevelled glass, silk velvet, brass
- Dimensions
- 64 1/2 x 71 x 14 1/2 in. (163.8 x 180.3 x 36.8 cm)
- Evidence
- Documented historical object
Architectural context
Carved mantels, layered trim and dark, decorative hardwoods. Britain and the United States · c. 1837–1901.
