Cabinet 1935 - 1942

This cabinet was made by Ferdinand Cartier; we don’t know exactly when. It’s a drawing, so the materials are humble: paper, ink, and watercolor. But look closely, and you'll see that the object it depicts is anything but. It's clearly meant to represent luxury. The wood grain is carefully rendered, with swirling patterns meant to evoke highly prized veneers. The details are all there: the delicate pulls on the drawers, the classical motifs, the inset writing surface. The question is, why did Cartier make a drawing of a cabinet, instead of just making the cabinet itself? Well, he was a designer. His job was to imagine things, and then present those ideas to others. This drawing would have been a proposal to a client, or perhaps a record of a design that had already been made. Either way, it gives us a glimpse into the world of high-end furniture making, where the design process is just as important as the finished product. It reminds us that even the most beautiful objects are the result of someone's labor, someone's vision, someone's skill.