Art Nouveau Oak Wardrobe with Mirror, 1920s

Details

Description

A three-door wardrobe made of solid oak, created during the transition from late Art Nouveau to early Art Deco, dating … Read more A three-door wardrobe made of solid oak, created during the transition from late Art Nouveau to early Art Deco, dating from around 1915–1925. The combination of a stepped gable and hand-carved ornamentation results in a clearly proportioned, formally cohesive appearance, in which construction and decoration are in perfect balance.

Historical context:
In the middle-class bedroom of the early 20th century, the representative wardrobe was the central piece of furniture for storing clothes. With the growth of industrial production and the continued existence of traditional decorative forms, this period saw the emergence of furniture production that combined structural clarity with ornamental refinement. The three-part layout, featuring a central mirrored door, a drawer base and a continuous clothes rail, reflects a functionally well-thought-out design scheme common in German and Dutch production.

Features:
Stepped gable with a continuous carved frieze of stylised volutes, geometric interlacing motifs and fruit forms; hand-carved cartouches on the side door panels and floral carving on the inner frame posts of the mirrored door. Design: Stylistically, the cabinet stands at the threshold between late Art Nouveau and early Art Deco. The organic-floral ornamentation – volutes, foliage, stylised fruits – derives from the Art Nouveau repertoire of forms; the strictly stepped gable and the rectangular overall structure, on the other hand, point to the tendencies towards simplification in the Reform style and early Art Deco. Decor and construction are harmoniously coordinated, without the ornamentation overshadowing the structural framework.

Function:
Formerly: Storage of clothing in a middle-class bedroom; the central mirror served as a dressing mirror. Today: A fully-fledged wardrobe; the interior features a continuous clothes rail and two drawers in the base for additional storage.

Dimensions:
Height: 212 cm × Width: 135 cm × Depth: 58 cm

Material and condition:
Solid oak with a pronounced cross-grain, visible on the door panels. Interior panelling in lighter softwood. Original metal fittings on drawers and doors retained. Professionally inspected and restored by Kastellan: newly stained and oiled, new mouldings fitted. Preserved in a condition appropriate to its age with a subtle patina; signs of age and wear present, in keeping with the piece’s historical character. See less