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Wardrobe

1875–1883
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 743
Herter Brothers, the firm of Gustave and Christian Herter, produced furniture and integrated interior designs in a great variety of styles. This wardrobe epitomizes their Anglo-Japanesque style of the 1870s, incorporating many of the design principles that the British critic Charles Locke Eastlake (1793–1865) promoted in the most widely read primer of the Aesthetic movement, his "Hints on Household Taste" (1868), published in America in 1872. The wardrobe is spare, rectilinear, and, as Eastlake espoused, has no "extravagant contour or unnecessary curves." Despite its apparent simplicity, however, the wardrobe is a highly sophisticated object. It references Ming-dynasty cupboards of the seventeenth century that are nearly identical in form, and the marquetry decoration is one of the most remarkable examples in the Herter oeuvre.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Wardrobe
  • Maker: Herter Brothers (German, active New York, 1864–1906)
  • Date: 1875–1883
  • Geography: Made in New York, New York, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Cherry
  • Dimensions: 78 1/2 x 49 1/2 x 26 in. (199.4 x 125.7 x 66 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Kenneth O. Smith, 1969
  • Object Number: 69.140a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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Portiere, Herter Brothers American, Silk velvet, cotton, wool, American
Portiere
Herter Brothers
ca. 1878–80
Ottoman, Herter Brothers American, Rosewood (secondary woods: cedar, chestnut), leather, replacement upholstery, American
Ottoman
Herter Brothers
ca. 1881–82
Armchair, Herter Brothers American, Rosewood and silk, American
Armchair
Herter Brothers
ca. 1880
Side Chair
Herter Brothers
ca. 1878
Cabinet, Herter Brothers American, Rosewood (secondary wood: poplar), brass inlay, beveled glass doors, velvet lining., American
Cabinet
Herter Brothers
ca. 1883

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