Parlor Cabinet With Hand-Painted Doors

Herter Brothers (1865-1905)
New York c. 1870

The name Herter Brothers is synonymous with quality craftsman-ship, innovative designs, beautiful inlaid woods, and excellent hand-painted decoration. Unfortunately, few examples of their decorative painting – generally attributed to the French artist Pierre-Victor Galland – survive. Notable among the extant examples are doors decorated with muses at the celebrated Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum, and this cabinet.

This cabinet retains its original inlay and painted decoration. With signature inlays identical to those on a simpler, documented (but unmarked) Herter cabinet now at the Currier Gallery of Art, the attribution of this piece is well established.

A fine museum-quality example by one of America’s most important cabinetmaking firms, this rare piece is distinguished for its beautiful hand-painted decoration.