Art Institute of Chicago

Cabinet

Herter Brothers (American, 1864–1906)

Date

1878–80

Medium

Rosewood with ebonized cherry, maple, walnut, satinwood, marquetry of various woods, brass, gilding, and paint

Culture

New York City

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The influence of Japanese artistic techniques and motifs abound in this cabinet, from the dazzling gold-field butterfly plaques set into the left and right cabinet doors, to the stylized floral inlays of the ebonized central compartment. Herter Brothers was one of the leading firms that designed furniture and interiors for the American upper class during the Aesthetic Movement, a cultural trend that emphasized beauty, particularly in the home. In the late 1870s, Herter Brothers began to incorporate such Japanese-derived elements in their designs, even as the furniture forms themselves derive from European and American precedents. It was common in the period to embrace eclectic motifs as long as they achieved a sense of visual harmony.

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