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Lot Essay
While figured plaques were commonly built into cabinets of this form in the late 19th century, including cabinets built by Alexander Roux (active 1836-1880) the neo-classical figure in grisaille shown here is most common on pieces marked by Herter Brothers, as seen on the console with mirror built by the firm for the music room of the Thurlow Lodge at the Milton Slocum Latham residence circa 1872 to 1873 (see Katherine S. Howe, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Catherine Hoover Voorsanger, et. al., Herter Brothers, Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age (New York, 1994), pp. 160-161, cat. no. 16.
Another characteristic identifying Herter Brothers as the likely maker of this cabinet is an ebonized cherry finish, a material that the firm began using frequently, starting in the 1880s. The classicized griffin motif on the frieze of the cabinet offered here is recognizable on other Herter Brothers designs, including the doors to the music room of the LeGrand Lockwood residence in Norwalk, Connecticut, illustrated in Howe, ibid., p.43, and the marquetry on a cabinet attributed to Herter Brothers, illustrated in Howe, ibid., pp. 156-157.
Another characteristic identifying Herter Brothers as the likely maker of this cabinet is an ebonized cherry finish, a material that the firm began using frequently, starting in the 1880s. The classicized griffin motif on the frieze of the cabinet offered here is recognizable on other Herter Brothers designs, including the doors to the music room of the LeGrand Lockwood residence in Norwalk, Connecticut, illustrated in Howe, ibid., p.43, and the marquetry on a cabinet attributed to Herter Brothers, illustrated in Howe, ibid., pp. 156-157.