Cabinet and Porcelain
The display cabinet at hand is a revivalist piece from the late 19th century made in the style of the neo-classic English cabinetmaker William Kent. By the end of the 19th century at least three generations had witnessed the spectacular passage of revivalist styles, from the chaste empire style of the 1840s to the gaudy manifestations of the gilded age. Then in the 1890s, taste started to shift back to a more restrained standard, one which recalled the arts of England’s golden age of taste, during the 18th century. This cabinet, with its highly architectural massing, broken pediment and balanced orders, makes a discreet reference to that style.
Inside the cabinet a collection of old Paris porcelain is displayed. “Old Paris,” or porcelaine de Paris, is a hard paste compound often decorated in gold. It was available in Louisville from several dry goods stores listed in city directories of the period and was often presented as wedding gifts. Indeed, the gold circle in the center of several of the plates is sometimes called “wedding ring” in the vernacular of the time.
The more ornate coffee set, with its swirling rococo motifs, is meant to recall the taste of Marie Antoinette, who is currently enjoying a certain revisionist comeback. Elaborately modeled and detailed, it can also be seen as a prop for the ceremony of serving coffee after a meal, thus illustrating the highly mannered society of late 19th-century America. These pieces were the gift of Mary Park Clements, a benefactor of The Filson.