Design for a Glass Fronted Cabinet with Red Interior 1800 - 1900

This design for a glass-fronted cabinet with red interior was made anonymously using ink and watercolor on paper. The design gives prominence to the materiality of wood, especially its grain, visible in the cabinet’s top. It also features the luxurious softness of red fabric on the interior, contrasting against the hardness of the wooden structure. The cabinet is ornamented with gilded details, which evoke status and refinement. The way the wood is worked, finished, and ornamented, would have been highly specialized. Many hands would have been involved, with a division of labor between those responsible for the structural elements, carving, gilding, and upholstery. This cabinet design points to the wider social issues of labor, class, and consumption. Paying attention to the materials, making, and context gives us a much deeper insight into its meaning and use, pushing beyond the divide between fine art and craft.