The Onians Cabinet
by Anastasia Larina
In the year 1600, two masters in Naples worked on the beautiful Onians Cabinet. Jacobus Fiamengo assembled it and Giovanni Battista Fontana likely decorated it with plates and patterns. They may have visualized that such an extraordinary design of the cabinet could please its owner’s eye, and not only hold the owner’s personal belongings. Although, one can put anything in this cabinet—dishes and even clothing—this particular piece of furniture could easily be imagined in a parlor or library, the repository of secret or personal papers and objects in it. Because of its rich coloring, rigidity, and massive size (it is 27.5 inches in height and 46 inches in length), this piece caught my eye quickly. It is hard to miss a 500-year-old armoire that looks like a whole building found in ancient Greece or Roman Empire. The Cabinet interested me because its appearance pushed me to think about the cabinet’s owner. I also wondered about the owners’ values, taste, and wealth. These thoughts brought me to the far past, to places I had only imagined. Today, The Onians Cabinet is on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA), in the Ahmanson building, in the room 328.
The body of the Onians Cabinet contains ebony, exotic wood, and even steel. The bas-relief sculptures that reflect the portraits of the gods, rulers, and knights likely from Roman culture and are etched into the ivory. One can assume that because of the Roman columns, on the armoire’s facade, and the Roman architecture in the background of the scenes on the cabinet’s face, these sculptures depict events that took place in Roman times. As in the designs of other cabinets and armoires of that time, the Onians cabinet has architectural elements in it (Blakemore, “Italian Renaissance”). It mimics the shape of an Italian palazzo. Besides the two columns, which take their place on the sides of a heavy front door, we can see the typical Roman arches depicted on the left and right sectors of the cabinet. Like in the palazzos, mythical characters are placed on the top of the "building" with ornamented exteriors, which start under the roof and the arched frames that allow more space surrounding the big windows. The corners, the most noticeable detail, have the traditional brickwork, which looks like a combination of long and short bricks. However, it is almost impossible to find a black palazzo on Italian streets, which makes the Onians Cabinet unique in that regard.
Such an unusual artwork could only belong to a very particular type of person, though the original owners of this cabinet are unknown. However, the cabinet itself can give us an impression of its owners. Looking at the materials and the craftsmanship that masters used to create this piece, I can assume that the client who ordered such a cabinet was wealthy, demanding, and educated. Ivory was extremely expensive and hard to get. In addition, Giovanni Battista Fontana, who was the court painter of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand II, probably created these ivory bas-relief sculptures (“Giovanni Battista Fontana,” Grove Art Online). It seems to me that the owner was not only particular, but had an interest in military history given the depiction of warriors on the ivory plates in various scenarios. The purchaser probably would not have been of the clergy because of the Roman gods on top of the piece’s facade. According to the depiction of the characters, pictured on the "windows" of the Cabinet, the original owner could have had a military background but was more likely just a wealthy and influential member of society.
Today, people still use cabinets to store food, clothes, books, souvenirs, medicines, instruments, and other valuable items. However, mass-produced cabinetry is not as attractive as custom-made furniture, such as the Onians Cabinet. There are private workshops that create exclusive and uncommon furniture pieces that could produce a custom cabinet like this, but generally rich and middle-class consumers are not looking for this level of historical ornamentation. Many knowledgeable clients would not be deeply interested in ancient fashion furniture because it looks fussy in present-day interiors. People prefer to have convenient and practical cabinets, with features such as silently closing doors, but not sophisticated art. If a modern cabinet was damaged, lost, or stolen, the owner could easily go and get the same model for a good price. Minimalism is popular today, so the contemporary buyers mostly would not see any patterns and pictures on their furniture, or a reflection of the master furniture maker's soul. Unlike the Onians Cabinet, current cabinets do not tell a story. The hard labor of talented master’s gives charm and spirit to the work, making it special.
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Cabinet from the Louvre
Dated circa 1645, the elegant Parisian Cabinet is a great example of the French Baroque. It is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, and unfortunately it does not have an artist’s name. The Parisian Cabinet is rich on details, as it shows a variety of symbols and scenes. I would love to examine it more closely, because it looks like there is a secret compartment behind every one of the little leaves. The major scenes, depicted on the front leaves, show how Horatius Cocles protects the Roman bridge from the Etruscans. We can see eight women, on the scene’s frame, whose attributes represent, for example, Justice (woman with the scales), Prudence (woman with the mirror), and Charity (woman with the kids). This cabinet is similar to the heavy Onians Cabinet. Like the Naples creation, the Parisian one is made of a heavy ebony frame, which also contains poplar and fruitwood materials. From the scenes depicted, the Parisian Cabinet is also illustrating Roman characters and military scenes. We can see the Roman Gods such as Mars, Minerva, and Apollo, while Onians Cabinet has Themis, Jupiter and, again, Mars on its sides. These Gods of wisdom and power speak to the martial qualities that have great value for this society. Regarding the differences between the Onians and Parisian cabinet, we can notice their use of space. The Parisian cabinet is multileveled in depth: one could explore it endlessly, because of the number of shelves and boxes. The artist decorated every box and leaf with mirrors, stones, paintings, and columns. Every space represents a small room, which even has tiny balconies on the top with patterned wooden borders. In addition, the Parisian cabinet is stretched and narrowed. It does not look like a building, and it is clearly a piece of furniture.
Themis
The whole mood of the Cabinet is focused on the theme of war. The images of the classical Gods, who decorate the top of the Onians Cabinet, perfectly reflect that atmosphere. There are three Gods recognizable by their attributes: Jupiter, the god of the lightning, holding his shield; Mars, the god of war, has a spear; and a woman in the center with a sword and scales in her arms is Themis, the goddess of justice. She also has a gift of prophecy. Depicted with scales, sword, and covered eyes, Themis was a wellspring of inspiration for the Greek people during the Trojan war. Although the Romans called her Justice, her name in Greek actually means “prophetic singer.” She sang about the future events to the Trojan warriors (Grant, 44). Being a daughter of Uranus, god of the sky, and Gaia, goddess of earth, she was considered a Titaness, a supernatural creature, who existed before the gods of Mount Olympus. Together, with her brother Ocean, Themis gave birth to all rivers, lakes, and oceans. Originally, Themis was considered Gaia herself, who was the first Goddess raised from chaos and who started life in the world. During the time, Themis became goddess of Right (Grant, 238). Themis also was the second lover of Zeus, after Metis, goddess of wisdom, and a mother of Prometheus (Lowell, Prometheus). Themis is known because of her prediction that the child of Zeus and his next lover would depose his father from the Olympian throne. She also helped Zeus to start the Trojan War by calling the council of Gods (Neihardt, Troja). Her three attributes reflect her character: scales (for a balanced and harmonic view), a sword (for protection of the truth), and a blindfold (meaning an impartial attitude towards everyone). Today, Themis herself has become a symbol on many court buildings and she is one of the central figures on the Onians cabinet.
Works Cited
Blakemore, Robbie G. History of Interior Design and Furniture: From Ancient Egypt to Nineteenth-Century Europe. 2d ed. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 2006.
Grant, Michael. Roman Myths United States of America: Dorset, 1984.
Lowell, Robert, and Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound. New York: Farrar, Straus; Giroux, 1969.
Neihardt, Alla. Legends and Stories of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Moscow: Pravda, 1987.
Grant, Michael. Roman Myths United States of America: Dorset, 1984.
Lowell, Robert, and Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound. New York: Farrar, Straus; Giroux, 1969.
Neihardt, Alla. Legends and Stories of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Moscow: Pravda, 1987.