Ontwerp voor een boeken- of vitrinekast 1808 - 1875

Carl Wilhelm Marckwort created this design for a bookcase or display cabinet, with pen and ink, at an unknown date. Considered as a cultural object, furniture is deeply intertwined with identity; it shapes our living spaces and reflects our values. During the time this sketch was likely made, the design and ownership of such a cabinet would have been influenced by social class, gender roles, and cultural values. The clean lines suggest order and rationality. What stories would it tell? Would it hold the belongings of a bourgeois family, displaying wealth, or the tools of an artisan, reflecting labor? The concept of the cabinet as a container of knowledge makes me wonder about literacy, access to education, and the power structures that would determine whose stories were told and preserved within. The sketch invites us to consider the cultural narratives embedded in everyday objects.