Images(2)

Fall-front Secretary Cabinet

Maker Herter Brothers (American, 1863 - 1905)

Collections

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Dateca. 1878

Mediumebony, ebonized maple, mahogany, figured birch, gilding, cloisonné

Dimensions65 × 38 × 16 1/2 in. (165.1 × 96.5 × 41.9 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds from the Art Collectors' Council

Status

On view

Label TextHerter Brothers, headed by German emigre Gustave Herter (1830-1898) and his half-brother Christian (1839-1883), produced some of New York's finest furniture in a rich and eclectic array of styles in the post-Civil War era. The firm's high level of artisanship and design are evident in this cabinet, which features cloisonne panels imported from Japan depicting chrysanthemums, lotus blossoms, a butterfly, and a dragonfly--highly symbolic flora and fauna in traditional Japanese culture--inserted into an ebony-veneered front. Japonesque motifs became especially popular in the West after American naval ships forced the opening of Japan to Western trade in 1853.

Object number2000.12