Cabinet on stand

Cabinets such as this played a prominent role within a fashionable nobleman’s home by serving not simply as personal storage but also as a theatrical stage for revealing the owner’s taste to honored guests. Each of the drawers and compartments may have held anything from important personal papers to rare medallions and other miniature works of art. The sumptuous floral marquetry designs in ivory, mother-of-pearl, shell, and various woods and the fine craftsmanship of this stately collector’s cabinet suggest the lavishness of the treasures once contained within—and the undoubtedly grand room in which the cabinet once resided.