They are at once statement objects and great concealers; their majestic presences lend living rooms, drawing rooms, libraries, bedrooms and even bathrooms a sense of grandeur, establishment and mystery. Decorative cabinets are artworks in themselves, often richly adorned inside and out. Cabinet doors often reveal further drawers, shelves and miniature cupboards, inviting curiosity and awe as each nook, compartment or jib is discovered.
I find myself drawn unfailingly to these pieces in any given room. They are such enchanting works, like dwarfed classical edifices complete with Liliputian loggias for handles, scaled-down friezes and dolls' house-sized pediments. Perhaps the most famous examples can be found at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in the form of dolls’ houses themselves and apothecary cabinets, lining the exhibition rooms like a grand metropolitan square of illustrious homes.
