Kabinet met twee deuren c. 1680 - 1700

This is an anonymous print of a 'Cabinet with Two Doors', now held at the Rijksmuseum. At a time when Europe's elite were consolidating power, luxury goods and decorative arts like this cabinet became potent symbols of status and control. The cabinet is adorned with classical motifs; female figures, garlands, and scenes of antiquity. These are not just decorative flourishes, but active symbols. They evoke the power of classical empires, legitimizing the wealth and authority of the cabinet's owner, while also reinforcing traditional gender roles, where women are represented as allegorical figures, objects of beauty, or silent supports. The cabinet stands as a cultural artifact. It invites us to consider the relationship between aesthetics, power, and identity, and its emotional resonance is tied to the complex histories it embodies.