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Court Cupboard

A work made of oak and iron.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oak and iron.

Date:

c. 1660

Artist:

England

About this artwork

From the medieval period to the seventeenth century, prosperous households used short, tiered cupboards or sideboards of this kind for the display of silver, ceramics, brass, or pewter. The name comes from the French word for court—meaning small—and was likely used to distinguish this kind of object from larger cupboards used to store linens and other household goods.

Most court cupboards used principles of classical architecture—particularly columns—to organize the tiers. This one is more unusual with its additional play of ornament and polygonal base and shelves that break forward with several drawers hidden in the moldings.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Title

Court Cupboard

Place

England (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1655–1665

Medium

Oak and iron

Dimensions

122 × 123.9 × 45.8 cm (48 × 48 3/4 × 18 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Neville and John Bryan

Reference Number

2018.618

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/198122/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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