Music Cabinet
Designer
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
(Dutch (with special British denizenship), 1836 - 1912)
Manufacturer
Johnstone, Norman & Co.
(English)
Date1884-85
MediumEbony, box-and rosewood, cedar, ivory, mother-of-pearl, abalone shell, marble and brass
DimensionsOverall: 79 x 92 1/2 x 18 in. (200.7 x 235 x 45.7 cm)
ClassificationsDecorative arts
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number84.101
DescriptionMusic cabinet made for the music room of Henry G. Marquand, New York city, circa 1883. Cabinet is in the Greek taste and has three open section steps beyond side ones and has a border of ivory and mother-of-pearl flowers across the top supported by applied pilasters with rosettes of ivory. Surmounted by an open cupboard in the form of a Greek temple with four columnar supports of reeded tapered columns resting on ivory plinths. The entire cabinet is veneered in ebony. Surmounted by ivory Ionic capitals. Above this is a pediment inlaid with ivory, mixed woods, cedar, boxwood and ivory mother-of-pearl in various designs (including lyre). Panel of green marble set in pediment. Central shelf of this area continues over the side cabinets to form a top for open areas on top. Side cabinets and this shelf face is inlaid with ivory in Greek key pattern. These open cabinets have ivory moldings and abalone shell insets. There are screw holes on top of each which indicates some missing decorations. This cabinet was a part of the furnishings for the music room of Henry Marquand's house in New York. The whole room was commissioned from the painter Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. The ceiling was by Frederick Leighton. Edward Poynter did the painting above the keyboard of the grand piano. The furniture was executed by Johnstone, Norman and Co., London. Numerous damages to finish.
Label TextSir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, designer
British, b. Netherlands, 1836–1912
Johnstone, Norman & Co.
London, England
Music Cabinet, 1884–85
Ebony, boxwood, rosewood, cedar, ivory, mother-of-pearl, abalone shell, marble and brass
Crowned with an ancient temple structure and delicately inlayed with ebony, ivory, and mother-of-pearl, this cabinet is a masterpiece of the Greek revival style. Lawrence Alma-Tadema originally designed the piece as part of a furniture suite for the music room of Henry G. Marquand’s New York City mansion. A railroad magnate and founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Marquand conceived of the house as a series of rooms decorated in a range of historical styles, including a Moorish smoking room, a Japanese chamber, and an opulent Greek revival music room.
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 84.101
