Wardrobe

The design of this large cabinet by Richard Riemerschmid is typical of early Munich Jugendstil. The cabinet’s simple construction and massive dimensions, combined with the hand-wrought iron fittings, recall a medieval spirit, characteristic also of the British Arts and Crafts movement, which highly influenced German taste at the turn of the century. The tense, organic quality and stylized, slightly asymmetrical, linear design of the iron ornamentation, however, indicates a new aesthetic sensibility, capturing the energetic verve associated with the beginning of a new era.

The metal fittings constitute a masterwork of Jugendstil ironwork. Only one other similar cabinet with such intricate iron ornamentation by Riemerschmid has been verified so far: the model he himself had installed in the office of his Munich home. This model was produced by the Dresden, and later by the German Workshops, also in a version featuring significantly less elaborate fittings.

Bi-partite layout with three door panels; decorated with handcrafted wrought iron fittings; projecting cornice; sidewalls slanted in the front. Interior: the double door section features a clothes rail and a shelf; the single door section contains three shelves.