This cabinet—an icon of our collection of European design—was made in the southern German city of Augsburg, which was renowned for its furniture during the 16th and 17th centuries. Likely produced for an elite merchant or a member of the nobility, the cabinet is composed of a multitude of hidden drawers and compartments. It would have acted as a luxurious vanity—a place where one could compose letters, maintain personal hygiene, and store curiosities and other treasured possessions.
Augsburg, Germany
Anonymous Purchase Fund
As one of the oldest works in the galleries, it is also one of the first that a visitor encounters in a chronological path through the new space. In its construction, structure, and ornament, one can find the DNA of all the works of fine furniture that follow.
With the recent redesign and reinstallation of the Eloise W. Martin Galleries, we had the opportunity to undertake extensive conservation of the cabinet, enabling us to reevaluate the work and think about how to display it to its greatest potential.
The cabinet upon its arrival at the museum in the 1970s
The cabinet as it has been displayed for decades, prior to its recent conservation
When the cabinet was acquired in the 1970s, it received what we now realize was a somewhat overzealous treatment from an outside restorer. The gilded brass hardware and the ivory lion paw feet were thought to be modern additions to the work, so they were removed. Subsequently, the cabinet was displayed without them for decades. In the video below, made in 2013, you can see the cabinet without these elements and also glimpse inside its fitted drawers to see the objects they hold.
A 2013 video featuring the cabinet without its brass hardware and feet showcases its inner drawers and compartments
Following the 1970s treatment, the removed hardware and feet were saved and put into storage along with the remaining elements of an apothecary and writing set that were originally stored inside the cabinet. Among these objects were scalpels, a spoon, a strainer, an ear-and-fingernail scoop, a beaker, an enema syringe, a tongue scraper, medicine canisters, scissors, a mortar and pestle, a sand caster, and pen knives. Some of these instruments show evidence of use: Red sealing wax, for instance, speckles the mortar and pestle.
Removed brass hardware and other elements
Items from the writing and apothecary set
I had always been intrigued by these pieces in storage and wondered if they might in fact be original to the cabinet. Then, I had a revelation while visiting a private collection in Paris, where I encountered a similar Augsburg cabinet. Immediately, I was struck by its hardware—it was almost identical to the engraved gilded brass fittings that had been removed from our cabinet!
Augsburg cabinet with similar hardware, about 1640–50
Private collection, Paris
This encounter propelled me to conduct further research, and I found that many intact cabinets from 17th-century Augsburg did have this style of brass hardware. Clearly, our hardware was indeed original. And, although the ivory lion paw feet are unique to this cabinet, their character and material harmonize with other aspects of its design and carving.
Conservator Lisa Ackerman reattaches the lion paw feet to the cabinet
One of our outstanding object conservators, Lisa Ackerman, undertook the treatment of the work, not only returning the hardware and the ivory feet to their original locations but also cleaning the hardware, repairing any pieces that had been broken when removed in the past, and repairing the cabinet itself, which had buckled (expanded and contracted) over time. While replacing the lion paw feet, which are held in place by original and massive hand-forged nails—further proof of their 17th-century origin—she made another exciting discovery.
The apron drawer at the base of the Augsburg Cabinet, newly discovered by conservator Lisa Ackerman
At the very bottom of the cabinet is a center apron that turns out to be a drawer. We did not know of this feature previously, and there was no record of it in the files. While it was unfortunately empty—no further secrets inside—we now have a spot for the cabinet key!
The cabinet in the new Eloise W. Martin Galleries
Today in the new galleries, you will find the cabinet fully cleaned, with its original hardware and feet remounted, and displayed along with a selection of objects from the apothecary and writing set for the first time.
It’s such a joy to see this object showcased at its best—a new view of its old self.
—Jonathan Tavares, Amy and Paul Carbone Curator, Applied Arts of Europe
