Cabinet-Secretary
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About this Brooklyn Icon
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.
In 1863 immigrant designers Antonin Kimbel (German) and Joseph Cabus (French) founded their New York–based furniture and decorating firm, Kimbel and Cabus, to outfit the homes of the city’s wealthy middle class. Working in the Modern Gothic style, they combined features of medieval architecture and design with rich surface decoration and bold, clean lines.
This secretary-cabinet is Kimbel and Cabus’s most developed Modern Gothic work and one of the rare examples of this style in the Brooklyn Museum collection. While functional, it was also intended for ostentatious display. Its rectilinear shape and gothic elements create a powerful presence that belies the desk’s relatively small dimensions. The two-legged winged dragon with a shield, or wyvern, is a symbol of valor and protection. Along with medieval references, Kimbel and Cabus broadly appropriated the forms of Asian arts and crafts: here, they used ebonizing, a process of blackening the surface of wood, to imitate Asian lacquer. Finally, they incorporated colorful ceramic French tiles of Islamic inspiration on the bottom doors.
Object Label
This cabinet-secretary is one of Kimbel and Cabus’s most developed works in the Modern Gothic style. While it is a functional object, the striking form—blackened to resemble ebony, with bold surface ornamentation and shelves for art objects—suggests that it was intended for display as much as for use. Elaborate cast metal hinges and decorative escutcheons take even the most practical elements to expressive heights, animating the drop-front desk and cabinet doors, which display colorful French-made tiles of Islamic inspiration.
Caption
Kimbel and Cabus 1863–1882. Cabinet-Secretary, ca. 1875. Painted cherry, copper, brass, gilding, leather, earthenware, 60 × 35 × 14 in. (152.4 × 88.9 × 35.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of DeLancey Thorn Grant in memory of her mother, Louise Floyd-Jones Thorn, by exchange, 1991.126. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Gavin Ashworth, 1991.126_GavinAshworth.jpg)
Tags
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Cabinet-Secretary
Date
ca. 1875
Geography
Place manufactured: New York, New York, United States
Medium
Painted cherry, copper, brass, gilding, leather, earthenware
Classification
Dimensions
60 × 35 × 14 in. (152.4 × 88.9 × 35.6 cm)
Signatures
no signature
Inscriptions
no inscriptions
Markings
reverse of each ceramic tile, molded lettering: "MONTREAU / L. M&.Cie / CREIL"
Credit Line
Bequest of DeLancey Thorn Grant in memory of her mother, Louise Floyd-Jones Thorn, by exchange
Accession Number
1991.126
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Is this demon crest related to a secret society or satanism?
Interesting question! This cabinet was made in the Modern Gothic style by Kimbel and Cabus, which means pointed arches and gilded decorations. I'm looking into this particular aspect of the iconography right now! It's described simply as a winged dragon in our records.It may be influenced by heraldic patterns and coats of arms, which the builders would have seen a time or two. They certainly put a lot of images and styles into this particular work, including staining the wood to make it look like dark ebony!Tell me more.
This is a terrific example of the Gothic Revival style in America. One detail of this piece is the use of long "strap hinges". Although these were functional, they were also highly decorative. This emphasis on functionality was a key feature of the Gothic style. The use of ebonized wood and carved chevrons are also hallmarks of this style.
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