Cabinet after 1595

This cabinet was created by Boas Ulrich around the turn of the 17th century. It combines ebonized wood with lavish ornamentation in silver and gold. The ebony gives it an air of sobriety, almost austerity, but that impression is immediately offset by the profusion of precious metal. This tension is characteristic of the period, when sumptuary laws tried, and generally failed, to restrain excessive consumption. Cabinets like this were essentially scaled-down versions of architecture, intended to display collections of precious objects, and were status symbols for the elite. The making of such an object would have involved many specialist workshops, from goldsmiths and silversmiths, to woodworkers trained in the rare skill of ebonizing. When we consider this object, we should think not only of its aesthetic value, but of the vast social network involved in its production. By understanding its materials, making, and context, we appreciate the complex relationship between art, craft, and society.