Kimbel & Cabus rosewood display cabinet with painted front medallion. Rosewood decorated with carving, gilt incising and ebonized areas; rectangular form, quarter-round ends enclosed by inlaid doors (marquetry Classical seated female figures with interior shelves); lower part of center section recessed with three relief columns on each side; circular center panel depicts a floral still life. Marquetry upper side panels depict musical themes. It's primary function in the Gilded Age was not storage but display. Circa 1865-1875. Dimensions: 59.5"h x 71.75"w x 23"d. Provenance: Michigan funeral home thence to private collector. This is one of six known: Brooklyn Museum, High Museum and private collections. Only one is ebonized. Possibly descended from the Andrew Carnegie family. Signed inside by Michael Milke who “varnish this cabinet,” dated 1870. Original untouched finish. There are only 2 known with painted center plaques. Anthony Kimbel emigrated from Germany in the late 1840s and founded a new firm in 1862, known as Kimbel & Cabus, with the French-born cabinet-maker, Joseph Cabus. Inspired by the writings of British designers Bruce J. Talbert and Charles Locke Eastlake, Kimbel & Cabus developed a line of furniture in the “modern” gothic style in the 1870s. Their furniture won great acclaim at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, and is characterized by the use of ebonized (blackened or stained) wood ornamented with incised gilt decoration, inlaid tiles, medieval patterns, distinctive strap-like hinges, and forms that reveal the structure of the piece. By the late 1870s, the firm was the leading interpreter of the gothic revival style prevalent for furniture and interiors in America. For shipping quote: (inside California) Delbert McCrea 831-566-6088; (outside California) Alexander Services 203-324-4012. Original finish. Scattered wear, scratches and small dents. Two areas upper left with losses to moulding (approximately 1.5" x .25" x .5"). Loss at right upper corner (approx 1" x 2"). Loss of the tip of the scrolling decoration upper right.