Parlor Cabinet

Porcelain and gold
The porcelain of the plaques, the gold of the gilding, and the wood of the cabinet are all of the finest quality. Cabinetmaker Alexander Roux used only the most expensive materials in his furniture designs.

Roux had immigrated to America from France in 1836 and established one of New York’s most prestigious woodworking firms. Because only the wealthy elite could afford his work, having Roux furniture in your home became a status symbol.

Cherubs
The cherubs (chubby, angelic children) that decorate the porcelain plaques are lifelike and sculptural and therefore reveal the influence of Renaissance anatomy on Roux.

Columns
The columns flanking the cabinet doors, because they are slender and ornate, show that the furniture designer drew inspiration from Classical Greece and Rome, a style popular during the 1860’s and 1870’s.

Display objects
The porcelain objects show how the cabinet was actually used within the home. The cabinet would have been placed at the center of a parlor (a formal living room), with other, smaller works of art placed on its surfaces for display.

Marquetry
With its intricate marquetry, the cabinet door is the work of a master. Marquetry refers to the pieces of different colored woods that are “inlaid,” or embedded into a surface, to create a picture.

Here, two griffins and a wreath surround an urn. Griffins are mythical half-lion, half-eagle creatures that are guardians of treasure—underlining the preciousness of the cabinet and the riches it might hold within.

Cabinet door
The door to the cabinet can be opened, but because the cabinet is almost entirely decorative—and opening the door would have hidden the beautiful designs—it would have been rarely used.

Weighty wood
Hallmarks of the Classical Revival style also include the light and dark woods, the extreme angles, and the “heavy” appearance of the work. Rather than being spindly and light, the cabinet is solid and weighty.