Court Cupboard
c. 1660
- Medium
- Oak and iron
- Classification
- Furniture
- Dimensions
- 122 × 123.9 × 45.8 cm (48 × 48 3/4 × 18 in.)
- Culture
- England
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Applied Arts of Europe
- Credit line
- Gift of Neville and John Bryan
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
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.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
