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Page 8 The Antique Shoppe October, 2019
inevitably, some inspired homemaker had to enclose it to make the room tidier.
COMMON SENSE But there was a hitch to the tidy fairy’s business. In the 16th and 17th century in
Europe there were no banks and no securities. The coin of the realm was literally
ANTIQUES the coin of the realm, coins made of precious metals, usually gold and silver.
But large quantities of gold and silver coin were bulky, hard to store and
hard to retrieve and carry around. So, the rich folk of the period, as rich folk of
By Fred Taylor all periods do, solved their problem easily and practically. Instead of sitting on
their wealth as modern investors do, they ate on it. They converted their gold
and silver bullion and jewelry to plates, cups, spoons and the newest Italian
CABINET FOR THE PLATES affectation, that funny looking thing called a fork. It certainly didn’t devalue
the metal and it gave the household owner an opportunity to
Court, Press And China display his wealth at meal times. But what happened to the
silver spoons and gold plates after supper? They were stored
One of the most revered pieces of furniture in most on the top of the now enclosed cup-board so as to still be
American households is the china cabinet that belonged to visible to visitors as well as the members of the household to
mama, grandma or great grandma and proudly displays reinsure their status.
family valuables and collectibles from current and previous The cup-board, or cupboard as it was now called, then
households. Maybe the cabinet itself is recent but the flavor became a separate piece of identifiable furniture and was
of the history still clings to it. initially called a “court cupboard.” But the word “court” had
Most such cabinets today are glass front affairs that may nothing to do with royalty or some such, it merely meant
or may not have curved or bowed glass panels and may or “short” since the household members had to be able to reach
may not have enclosed storage below the main display the very top to set the table. The top was eye-level or below.
compartment. In fact they may even be glass front bookcases The standard form of the court cupboard was an enclosed
that have been pressed into service to display family china cabinet on legs with open shelf storage below. When food
and silver. So where and when did this ritualistic furniture was also stored in the cupboard it was sometimes called a
form develop? “standing livery.”
In the 16th century it started as a simple board attached to I Continue >
the wall on which to place cups, plates, eating utensils and This variation of the court cupboard, an enclosed press cupboard displayed
75
condiments. It was literally a “cup-board.” A single board in the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona Beach, FL, was made in
developed into two or three as the household expanded and, Massachusetts circa 1680. (Fred Taylor photo.)
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