Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Object of the Day: An Ebonized Victorian Music Cabinet

With undulating scalloped fretwork at its crest and intricately carved scrolls, this cabinet sits proudly on turned legs. The grand door with its carved plaque of a lyre and sheet music amidst a field of ribbons is flanked by two turned spindles.

A small shelf perches on a bracket just below the crest, casting a shadow over hand-carved details which catch the light in glimpses. Designed to hold sheet music, this cabinet features a variety of narrow shelves above a larger alcove which could have held an instrument itself. Not being a musician, I use this ebonized piece in my dining room—its purpose retained, but altered. A lasting monument to a long-passed love of order, I think it’s happy to house, protect and organize whatever it can.

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