An Elegant Sheraton Period Satinwood Veneed Cabinet

The pierced brass gallery above a drawer and a pair of mirrored doors; below is a frieze drawer and a pair of cupboard doors; raised on square tapering legs terminating in spade feet. Crossbanded throughout in purpleheart and strung in ebony.

This charming cabinet epitomises the Sheraton style popularised by Thomas Sheraton in The Cabinet-Maker's and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (1794). This is shown in the design of the cabinet which is very elegant with slender proportions and in the use of materials much in favour during the period. The use of satinwood, at virtually double the cost of mahogany and mirrors for the doors to the upper section, again a luxury material, show this cabinet to be of the highest quality. The cabinet-maker has then used purpleheart crossbandings to give a strong and colourful contrast and a brass gallery which was a new feature introduced during this period. All these elements show the cabinet to have been a highly fashionable commission.