The history of the Cabinet

The first known use of the term ‘ cabinet ' to describe a piece of furniture occurs in an inventory prepared for the French King Francis 1 in 1528. Whether serving personal, political, religious or ritualistic purposes, the chest with compartments and drawers - which we may take as the basic definition of the cabinet - was present in the most sophisticated and richest of interiors, and had its place on the most solemn of occasions. Throughout the history of mankind, besides essential household furniture - beds, tables, chairs and chests, however ornate these might have been - the cabinet has enjoyed a special place in domestic life.

When the tom b of Tutankhamun, built in the mid-fourteenth century BC, was opened in 1922, over thirty chests were revealed; these would have contained the valuables and personal possessions of the young pharaoh, together with objects endowed with important ritualistic meaning to accompany him on his journey to the afterlife. The Ark of the Covenant, described in the Bible and depicted on some early Jewish artefacts, was a special cabinet with gabled top and temple front, made to hold the most sacred pact between God and His chosen people. The basic form, inspired by the ancient Egyptian prototypes, was adopted in the classical world, first in Greece and later in Rome . The Latin word arca echoed the meaning with which the piece was endowed.

The form survived in small caskets dating from the early Christian and Byzantine period, and continued in the nest of drawers found in medieval times in the armarium and in bridal chests (the Italian cassone or the Catalan hembra ). Muslim influence was of seminal importance in the dissemination and development of early European cabinets in the fifteenth century. The Portuguese and Spanish escritorio (later termed vargueno ) and the Italian scrittorio were both related to the first function of the European cabinet, to serve as a portable writing desk and a case for carrying documents and valuables, a purpose which was echoed in the characteristic Schreibtisch associated with Nuremberg and Augsburg . The decorative techniques used reflected Middle and Near Eastern influences: the geometric inlay of wood, bone and ivory of the mudejar style in Spain and the alla certosina or embriachi work in Italy ; and the damascened metalwork produced first in Venice and later in Milan in the sixteenth century.

Cabinets were first recorded in England in the sixteenth century. A German traveller, Paul Hentzner, noted in 1578 at Whitehall Palace 'Two little cabinets of exquisite work, in which the Queen (Elizabeth 11 keeps her papers and which she uses for writing boxes '; no doubt this was a Portuguese or Spanish escritorio , or a Schreibtisch from Augsburg or Nuremberg. 'Nests of drawers' had already been known in Tudor times and during Edward VI's reign in 1550 'three cabinets set in the wall covered with crimson velvet and garnished with gold and silver ', in the 'secrete juelhouse ', recalled French antecedents.

German cabinetmakers continued to use the term Schreibtisch for their ornate ebony cabinets - pieces decorated with gold, silver, semi- precious stones, ivory, coral and amber - well after they had refined the form into the Kunstschrank , in which the container itself - the cabinet - became as precious as the contents. In Italy the concept of the humanist studiolo in the fifteenth century reflected a desire to represent a microcosm of the known world; it was of profound importance in the development of the later Cabinets of Curiosities, or Wunderka mmer , and of the cabinet as a piece of furniture. The studiolo (or stipo ) grew in complexity and richness of decoration, reflecting the all-encompassing humanist approach to worldly knowledge and the resulting growth of intellectual curiosity and scientific discovery.

The cabinet was at the forefront of experimental innovations. Every possible technique was employed to further its embellishment, giving a new status and name to the furniture makers involved in its realization throughout Europe : cabinertmaker, ébéniste, ebanista, Tischler. Many different crafts were involved in its adornment: the gold- and silver- smith; the lapidary cutter of cameos, intaglios, pietra dura, amber and coral; the engraver of ivory; the painter; the sculptor and bronze worker; and the embroiderer. The interiors grew in richness and complexity, allying the use of the camera obscura and the creation of an imaginary world by means of a mirrored perspective to the contemporary fascination with the theatre and illusion. Interiors were often made to resemble miniature palaces and would conceal secret drawers and compartments, further enhancing the magical quality of the cabinet and the virtuosity of the cabinetmaker's art.

In the seventeenth century the cabinet became the most highly prized single piece of furniture, a work of art in its own right which would further the dynastic and political interests of the absolute monarchjes of the time. Major examples were made to order as diplomatic presentation pieces or as gifts between kings and princes, and were thus endowed with individual emblematic significance. The status it enjoyed was never higher, and the new wealth generated from European trade with the East led to the use of oriental lacquer to impart an exotic gleaming richness to decorative finishes.

The Netherlands , France and England were now producing cabinets of larger size in the grand Baroque manner, each country contributing its own special style and technique which in turn influenced p roduction in other European countries. Tortoiseshell, floral marquetry and metal inlays were among the materials and techniques used on cabinets of regal grandeur and magnificence. The stands too, often sculptural in form, reflected this ostentation and richness in their gilt or silvered finish. The cabinet had become essentially a showpiece; in France it was the meuble de parade et d'apparat essential to the ethos of the Grand Siècle and the royal court at Versailles .

The eighteenth century saw a reaction against the grand formality and strict etiquette associated with absolute rule, and a renewed sense of hedonism and informal intimacy encouraged the development of smaller pieces of furniture incorporating some of the attributes of the traditional cabinet, but with a different emphasis in terms of its use. Types such as the scriptor , secrétaire , bonheur du jour and bureau continued the format of the cabinet-on-stand with the emphasis on the writing function, while the serre-bijoux , or jewel cabinet, and the médaillier , or coin and medal cabinet, were used to hold precious personal possessions and collections.

The English form of the bureau-cabinet, with its accent on storage, writing function and practicality, was adopted throughout the world with the exception of France , a distinctive local style being developed in America . The Empire style in France influenced only the outer decoration of the secrétaire and bonheur du jour without altering the basic structure, while the display cabinet was an extension of the form of the bureau-cabinet.

The concept of the cabinet as a showpiece was revived in the nineteenth century, when it served as the vehicle for nationalistic displays of recently developed industrial techniques, notable pieces being shown in the numerous international exhibitions held in Paris, London, New York and Philadelphia . Eventually, advances in technology and modernism were to rob the cabinet of both its role and its artistic value. In the twentieth century, although the form may have survived in derivations or pastiches by a small number of makers who can still practise traditional cabinet making skills, the substance has long since disappeared.