Narra Cabinet
Last Quarter of the 19th Century
Narra and Brass
H:91" x L:60" x W:10 1/4" (231 cm x 152 cm x 26 cm)

This narra aparador or cabinet with chamfered front corners was purposely made in three parts for ease in handling. The bottom portion consists of a large, wide drawer with two turned drawer pulls and a metal keyhole shield; the main body with its two doors and the entablature surmounted by a pierced and carved crest. The cabinet stands on bracket feet consisting of a cyma recta molding at the bottom topped with a concave then a quarter-round molding, with the chamfered portion jutting out diagonally at the front. The bottom portion has a single wide drawer with a pair of turned drawer pulls and a diamond-shaped metal keyhole shield. The chamfered corners of the main body of the aparador are decorated above and below with appliqued acanthus leaf scrolls and volutes. The doors and sides of the cabinet are carved with an oblong panel with a rounded top and bottom. The doors are framed in such a way that the inner side of the frame follows the outline of the rounded oblong. Each door has a turned narra pull that, when opened, reveal three shelves, with a pair of drawers placed side by side below the middle shelf. The drawers each have brass ring pulls attached to a decorated boss. The detachable upper part of the cabinet consists of an entablature topped with a cyma reversa cornice, with the entablature jutting out at the front corner to follow the chamfered outline of the body. A pierced and carved crest crowns the piece and is flanked on either side by turned finials. The crest consists of a central clump of leafy scrolls tied together and extending symmetrically on either side in graceful curves of gradually diminishing height to terminate in stylized fruit and flowers. -Martin I. Tinio, Jr.