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.