Medal cabinet 1760 - 1761

Editor: So, this “Medal Cabinet” was made around 1760-1761 by William Vile. It's currently at the Met, and it's made of wood. It feels... almost aggressively ornate. What narratives do you think this piece engages with? Curator: I think it embodies the complex relationship between power, display, and access that defined elite culture in the 18th century. These weren't just display cases; they were statements about the owner’s wealth and social standing during the height of colonial exploitation. Editor: Exploitation? How so? Curator: The materials, craftsmanship, and sheer extravagance relied on global trade networks that profited immensely from coerced labor, natural resource extraction from colonized lands. Who has access to the cabinet’s contents versus who is excluded from viewing or owning are telling power dynamics of gender, race, and class. Think of who's labor actually created such opulence! Editor: I never thought about it that way, it does make you reconsider that presumed status and value. The design itself, would you also see any social context in there? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the architectural elements—the columns, the pediment. They’re referencing classical antiquity, a visual shorthand for "high culture" and legitimacy, meant to reinforce their own superiority. But isn't this "superiority" deeply embedded in systems of oppression and inequality? Editor: So the cabinet itself almost performs a kind of… social theatre? Curator: Precisely! It performs status, wealth, and, ultimately, power, while obscuring the human cost behind its creation and ownership. Editor: That's a really interesting, but disturbing point. I guess beauty can conceal a lot. Curator: Indeed. And interrogating that concealment is vital for us to understand both the art and the world around it. Editor: Thanks, this definitely changes how I look at decorative art.