Cabinet Doors & Fronts · Victorian (Queen Anne, Eastlake)
Kimbel and Cabus Modern Gothic Hanging Key Cabinet (c. 1874)
An oak hanging key cabinet made around 1874 by the New York firm Kimbel and Cabus in the Modern Gothic style, with pointed cresting, chamfered edges and pierced metal strapwork on the door.
Design characteristics
Kimbel and Cabus were leaders of the American Modern Gothic style, which borrowed the spires, chamfers and strap hinges of medieval furniture and simplified them for machine production. This small cabinet hung on a wall to hold household keys. Its silhouette rises to pointed finials, the frame is chamfered and incised, and the single door carries decorative metal strapwork over a plain oak panel. Pieces like this show how much character a tiny wall cabinet can carry. Similar proportions work for a medicine cabinet, a spice cabinet in a period kitchen, or a mudroom key box beside the back door.
Classification
- Category
- Cabinet Doors & Fronts
- Material
- Oak
- Motifs
- Incised geometric, Gothic tracery
- Date
- ca. 1874
- Maker or designer
- Kimbel and Cabus
- Recorded medium
- Oak
- Dimensions
- 41 3/4 x 12 7/8 x 5 1/2 in. (106 x 32.7 x 14 cm)
- Evidence
- Documented historical object
Architectural context
Carved mantels, layered trim and dark, decorative hardwoods. Britain and the United States · c. 1837–1901.
