Cabinets

Cabinets have a long, storied past. Some date back more than two millennia to when the Chinese began making ornate cabinets that were expertly held together with a few nails and adhesive. The earliest incarnations were ornately inlaid, boldly painted, and held silk robes, linens, and various personal possessions.

Ancient trade routes between the East and West resulted in a sharing of design ideas. As classical Eastern antiquity swept through Europe, furniture design across the continent were influenced by the East.

By the 18th and 19th centuries, cabinets were found throughout Europe in regional and national variants indicative of their origin. Utilitarian Scandinavian cabinets, such as those in the Swedish Gustavian style, were whitewashed and painted with solid casual country feel. English Edwardian cabinets were more delicate, often rendered in mahogany with petite, carved legs and glass fronts to display china and decorative objects.

In the post-Civil War United States, women's domestic responsibilities increased and period homes lacked built-in cabinetry and storage space. The compact, efficient Hoosier cabinet developed an appeal that carried over to turn-of-the-century homemakers, who appreciated the free-standing, multi-use kitchen cabinets for their convenient utility.

Quick Facts

• A late 17th or early 18th century Flemish Baroque part-ebonized, shell-mounted table cabinet sold at Skinner for $12,300
• In December 2005, an exceptional circa 1870 Herter Brothers inlaid and painted rosewood cabinet sold at a Neal auction for $80,750
• In an April 2009 Neal auction, an 1865 inlaid porcelain and gilt bronze-mounted rosewood parlor cabinet sold for $32,312