Cabinet

Above the ebonized plinth, the body of the cabinet has two doors in front, each decorated with chevron-veneering within an ebonizing trefoil frame, and a foliate marquetry medallion above within ebonized framing.

Talbert was a prominent designer and cabinetmaker working in the Gothic style from the 1860s. The form of this cabinet is based on the sixteenth-century Tudor court cupboard and displays such characteristic Gothic architectural elements as crockets and a pointed arch. The two-dimensional ornament comprises different colored veneers depicting stylized floral and Gothic patterns. The design is taken from Talbert's extremely influential 1868 publication, Gothic Forms Applied to Furniture, Metal Work and Decoration for Domestic Purposes.

Provenance

In a private collection in Nova Scotia. New York. 1997, sold by Margaret B. Caldwell to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 19, 1997)

Credit Line

John Wheelock Elliot and John Morse Elliot Fund and Arthur Tracy Cabot Fund

Cabinet

  • English, about 1870
  • Designed by Bruce Talbert, Scottish, 1838–1881
Dimensions
218.1 x 61.9 x 112.4 cm (85 7/8 x 24 3/8 x 44 1/4 in.)
Medium or Technique
Cherry, oak; veneers of thuya, ebony, walnut, and rosewood
Classification
Furniture
Type
Case-piece
Accession Number
1997.188
On view
Lorna and Robert Rosenberg Gallery (Europe, 1830–1900) - 252

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