BH | Studio Vézelay Arched Display Cabinet

Glazed cabinets for showing china became fashionable in the eighteenth century, when porcelain was prized enough to be displayed rather than shut away. The arched pane, borrowed from the windows of churches and orangeries, gave those cabinets a sense of height and ceremony.

This tall cabinet has two doors, each glazed in two narrow arched panes of tempered glass above a solid lower panel. It is built of solid hardwood and wood veneer with careful joinery, the timber kiln-dried so it stays stable. The doors swing shut softly and open with a simple press on a magnetic catch, so no handles are needed. Inside are four fixed shelves for dinnerware, collectibles or books, with a further shelf hidden behind the lower panels. It arrives fully assembled.

It does the work of a china cabinet, a curio and a glass-fronted bookcase at once, in a dining room, a living room or a library corner. Whichever finish you choose, the case makes whatever sits on the shelves glow, so fill it with white ironstone, a collection of green glass or rows of cloth-bound books. Set a reading lamp and a velvet armchair nearby for a room with real character. This listing is for one cabinet.