The wardrobe has been known at least since Roman times, as it appears in the paintings of Herculaneum. Although at first it only served to contain weapons, as its name indicates, it was soon used to store all types of objects.[13]​.

The Romans used this furniture to enclose portraits of their ancestors (Ius imaginum) and books. The first ones, since they were made of wax, had to be enclosed so that they would not spoil with the air and dust. These cabinets were only opened on holidays and on some famous event.[14] Those who had been accused of a crime also opened the cabinets containing those esteemed portraits when their innocence had been justified. Cicero, speaking in defense of Publius Cornelius Sulla,[15] says it clearly. The libraries of the Romans were made up of cabinets, in which volumes or scrolls were placed and distinguished with various numbers.[16]​[17]​.

The wardrobe seems to have disappeared in the Middle Ages in favor of chests and chests, except for storing weapons in castles, churches or monasteries. The conditoria was a special closet for monasteries, churches or chapels, near the altar, used to store the sacred sacrament, vases or sacred objects, holy oils, relics, etc. A strong lock allowed it to be locked. It is said that the oldest preserved in France is that of the Aubazine Abbey. Two earlier cabinets of this type, but from the late 13th century, are preserved in Bayeux Cathedral and Noyon Cathedral, but are decorated with paintings. Later, the casements would be formed by framed panels, often decorated with a form (in low relief) of parchment or Gothic ornamentation, as in the so-called cabinet of relics or buffet of Saint Geoffroy in the parish church of l'Assomption-de-la-Très-Sainte-Vierge du Chalard, in Le Chalard, France (second half of the 15th century).[18] Also In churches, or in the sacristy, closets were used to store priestly vestments, sacred books, etc.

In the Middle Ages, with the exception of churches and monasteries, it served only to enclose weapons and armor, since other objects were kept in chests or simple cupboards. But since the beginning of the 15th century, the closet was used for the same purpose as now and its doors were decorated with reliefs when before they only had paintings. During the 16th and 17th centuries, elegant two-section wardrobes were used and since the 18th century, display cabinets and showcase libraries have been built as worthy living room and study furniture.[13]​.

Wardrobes generally consist of six main parts: two doors, two sides, the back, the cornice and two bottoms, top and bottom. The interior is lined with boxes or shelves and is sometimes free. All the pieces of a wardrobe must be assembled using tenon and mortise without gluing them, but screwed so that they can be disassembled, because a wardrobe has to be assembled and disassembled at will to make it transportable in case of, for example, a move. Generally the sides of the closet consist of a frame with panels that acts as a upright and to which the bars that constitute the framework of the floor and the top are assembled at the bottom and above. The doors are hinged on the frame of the side frames. The backrest is made up of thin slats slotted together laterally and the cornice consists of loose pieces that are screwed at the top and assembled at the mitered angles without extending the overhang at the back so that the cabinet can rest on the wall.[19]​.

There are different types of cabinets depending on their storage use, placement and dimensions:[20]​.

• Pantry cabinet: cabinet to store food. Food cupboards have been common in large Western European residences since the Middle Ages. In England they are well documented.

• Sideboard cabinet: low or high sideboard, with one or more bodies (usually two), closed by doors and sometimes with drawers located generally in the lower area of ​​the board of the lower body. In the second half of the 19th century, the large size composed of multiple bodies with variable compartments was developed. Combine drawers, glass doors, shelves and mirrors, for dining rooms and living rooms.

• File cabinet: cabinet of any size and composition with common compartments or drawers. They are usually adapted to store documents.

• Medicine cabinet: cabinet to store medicines, usually with conveniently identified classifiers.

• Kitchen cabinet: high or low cabinet that generally forms a modular and matching whole for the kitchen. They are compartmentalized to house various accessories and kitchen utensils.

• Gerona Wardrobe: this is the name given to the decorative wardrobes built in Bajo Ampurdán (Gerona), documented since the mid-17th century with great development in the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. They have double swing doors and a lower drawer. They are decorated with carving and marquetry techniques.

• Mirror or moon cabinet: cabinet that has a full-length mirror. It was born in France during the period of King Philip IV of France, resulting from the merger of two large clothing wardrobes.

• Living room closet: decorative closet that is placed in the common room. Wedding gift, the trousseau was placed inside.

Appearing at the beginning of the 20th century with the styles of 1925, the mirror cabinet is similar to other mirror furniture, in the form of a cabinet with a mirror attached to the inside of one of the doors. Some closets called "man-stands" (or in French homme-debout) had a mirror attached to the outside of the only door that, when opened, could tip over a piece of furniture if it was loaded with clothes; For this reason, a hook was placed on the back of the closet that allowed it to be fixed to the wall. Nowadays, the lightness of modern mirrors, made possible by their thinness, allows them to be fixed to each door, although it is still convenient to use wall anchoring systems.

Another form of cupboard is the ice cupboard, which consisted of a very thick wooden chest, one of whose compartments contained blocks of ice that were used to keep food fresh. In France, this type of cabinet could still be seen in food stores (butcher shops, cheese shops, fishmongers, etc.) until the early 1950s.

Frankfurt cabinet

The Frankfurt wardrobe is a baroque two-door wardrobe or wardrobe common in the city of Frankfurt with a clear architectural structure system. It was made of spruce with walnut or solid oak veneer. Examples without pine veneer are generally contemporary replicas. Thanks to its design, all cabinets can be disassembled into several individual pieces and reassembled in just a few steps, without the need for tools, but two people are required.

The cabinets were in demand as masterpieces of Frankfurt carpentry, but could also have been commissioned by patrician families. The original purpose was to store household linens and clothing; the size was intended to illustrate the existing bedding supply of the owning family. Historical examples were and are most often used as filing cabinets, for example in the operating rooms of the Frankfurt City Hall or on banks.

Kas style

Kas, kast or kasten (pronounced kaz) is a huge cupboard or wardrobe of Dutch origin similar to a wardrobe that was popular in the Netherlands and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was equipped with shelves and drawers that were used to store different types of clothing and other valuables and was locked. They were status symbols and family heirlooms in the Netherlands and luxury items imported to the American colonies. As such, they were often made of quality wood, such as cherry, rosewood and ebony, and were veneered, carved or painted.[21]​.

Cupboard of Seven Keys

The Cabinet of the Seven Keys (until 1978 of the Six Keys), in Catalan the Armari de les Set Claus, keeps the documentary collection of Andorra and opens with seven keys held by the seven consuls of the seven parishes that make up that country.[22] It is located in the Casa de la Vall, where the General Council of Andorra meets.

• !18th century wardrobe, closed bed and bench from the Cornec house in Saint-Rivoal in Finistère

18th century wardrobe, closed bed and bench from the Cornec house in Saint-Rivoal in Finistère

• !Art deco wardrobe made in France in the 1930s.

Art deco wardrobe made in France in the 1930s.

• !Storing clothes in a closet.

Storing clothes in a closet.

• !Reproduction of an 18th century wardrobe.

Reproduction of an 18th century wardrobe.

• !Replica of a period wardrobe (Chantilly wardrobe), Louis XV style.

Replica of a period wardrobe (Chantilly wardrobe), Louis XV style.

• "Directoire" wardrobe replica of an old model, directire style.

"Directoire" wardrobe replica of an old model, directire style.

• Two-body cabinet with divinities - Second half of the 16th century.

Wardrobe of two bodies with divinities - Second half of the 16th century.

• Two-section wardrobe - second third of the 16th century.

Two-section wardrobe - second third of the 16th century.

• Wardrobe with parrots made by Boulle around 1680/1690-1700 (Louvre Museum).

Wardrobe with parrots made by Boulle around 1680/1690-1700 (Louvre Museum).

• "Armoire d'Aubazine" with wrought iron locks and hinges, the oldest "liturgical armoire" (Conditiora) in France (probably from the beginning of the 13th century.

"Armoire d'Aubazine" with wrought iron locks and hinges, the oldest "liturgical armoire" (Conditiora) in France (probably from the beginning of the 13th century.

• !Wardrobe dating from the 14th century, today used in the house of the Sainte-Marie church in Corneilla-de-Conflent (France).

Wardrobe dating from the 14th century, today used in the house of the Sainte-Marie de Corneilla-de-Conflent church (France).

• !Wardrobe from the early 17th century from the charterhouse of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, currently in the Musée Pierre-de-Luxembourg in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon.

Wardrobe from the early 17th century from the charterhouse of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, currently in the Musée Pierre-de-Luxembourg in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon.

• !Wardrobe made by André-Charles Boulle. Louvre Museum

Wardrobe made by André-Charles Boulle. Louvre Museum

• !Wardrobe, commissioned for the Concert Hall of the Tuileries Palace. Ebony, red tortoiseshell and brass, 1834. Georges-Alphonse Jacob-Desmalter. Louvre Museum.

Wardrobe, commissioned for the Concert Hall of the Tuileries Palace. Ebony, red tortoiseshell and brass, 1834. Georges-Alphonse Jacob-Desmalter. Louvre Museum.

• Sideboard

• Chest

• Wardrobe (clothing)

• Wardrobe

• Drawer

• Chest of drawers

• Cabinet (furniture)

• Shoe rack (furniture)

• Come out of the closet.

• Rodríguez Bernis, Sofia. Furniture Dictionary. Madrid: Ministry of Culture. General Subdirectorate of State Museums, December 20, 2005. ISBN 978-84-8181-268-8. https://libreria.cultura.gob.es/libro/diccionario-de-mobiliario\_3135/edicion/ebook-3676/.

• !Wd Data: Q106106

• !Commonscat Multimedia: Wardrobes / Q106106.

The wardrobe has been known at least since Roman times, as it appears in the paintings of Herculaneum. Although at first it only served to contain weapons, as its name indicates, it was soon used to store all types of objects.[13]​.

The Romans used this furniture to enclose portraits of their ancestors (Ius imaginum) and books. The first ones, since they were made of wax, had to be enclosed so that they would not spoil with the air and dust. These cabinets were only opened on holidays and on some famous event.[14] Those who had been accused of a crime also opened the cabinets containing those esteemed portraits when their innocence had been justified. Cicero, speaking in defense of Publius Cornelius Sulla,[15] says it clearly. The libraries of the Romans were made up of cabinets, in which volumes or scrolls were placed and distinguished with various numbers.[16]​[17]​.

The wardrobe seems to have disappeared in the Middle Ages in favor of chests and chests, except for storing weapons in castles, churches or monasteries. The conditoria was a special closet for monasteries, churches or chapels, near the altar, used to store the sacred sacrament, vases or sacred objects, holy oils, relics, etc. A strong lock allowed it to be locked. It is said that the oldest preserved in France is that of the Aubazine Abbey. Two earlier cabinets of this type, but from the late 13th century, are preserved in Bayeux Cathedral and Noyon Cathedral, but are decorated with paintings. Later, the casements would be formed by framed panels, often decorated with a form (in low relief) of parchment or Gothic ornamentation, as in the so-called cabinet of relics or buffet of Saint Geoffroy in the parish church of l'Assomption-de-la-Très-Sainte-Vierge du Chalard, in Le Chalard, France (second half of the 15th century).[18] Also In churches, or in the sacristy, closets were used to store priestly vestments, sacred books, etc.

In the Middle Ages, with the exception of churches and monasteries, it served only to enclose weapons and armor, since other objects were kept in chests or simple cupboards. But since the beginning of the 15th century, the closet was used for the same purpose as now and its doors were decorated with reliefs when before they only had paintings. During the 16th and 17th centuries, elegant two-section wardrobes were used and since the 18th century, display cabinets and showcase libraries have been built as worthy living room and study furniture.[13]​.

Wardrobes generally consist of six main parts: two doors, two sides, the back, the cornice and two bottoms, top and bottom. The interior is lined with boxes or shelves and is sometimes free. All the pieces of a wardrobe must be assembled using tenon and mortise without gluing them, but screwed so that they can be disassembled, because a wardrobe has to be assembled and disassembled at will to make it transportable in case of, for example, a move. Generally the sides of the closet consist of a frame with panels that acts as a upright and to which the bars that constitute the framework of the floor and the top are assembled at the bottom and above. The doors are hinged on the frame of the side frames. The backrest is made up of thin slats slotted together laterally and the cornice consists of loose pieces that are screwed at the top and assembled at the mitered angles without extending the overhang at the back so that the cabinet can rest on the wall.[19]​.

There are different types of cabinets depending on their storage use, placement and dimensions:[20]​.

• Pantry cabinet: cabinet to store food. Food cupboards have been common in large Western European residences since the Middle Ages. In England they are well documented.

• Sideboard cabinet: low or high sideboard, with one or more bodies (usually two), closed by doors and sometimes with drawers located generally in the lower area of ​​the board of the lower body. In the second half of the 19th century, the large size composed of multiple bodies with variable compartments was developed. Combine drawers, glass doors, shelves and mirrors, for dining rooms and living rooms.

• File cabinet: cabinet of any size and composition with common compartments or drawers. They are usually adapted to store documents.

• Medicine cabinet: cabinet to store medicines, usually with conveniently identified classifiers.

• Kitchen cabinet: high or low cabinet that generally forms a modular and matching whole for the kitchen. They are compartmentalized to house various accessories and kitchen utensils.

• Gerona Wardrobe: this is the name given to the decorative wardrobes built in Bajo Ampurdán (Gerona), documented since the mid-17th century with great development in the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. They have double swing doors and a lower drawer. They are decorated with carving and marquetry techniques.

• Mirror or moon cabinet: cabinet that has a full-length mirror. It was born in France during the period of King Philip IV of France, resulting from the merger of two large clothing wardrobes.

• Living room closet: decorative closet that is placed in the common room. Wedding gift, the trousseau was placed inside.

Appearing at the beginning of the 20th century with the styles of 1925, the mirror cabinet is similar to other mirror furniture, in the form of a cabinet with a mirror attached to the inside of one of the doors. Some closets called "man-stands" (or in French homme-debout) had a mirror attached to the outside of the only door that, when opened, could tip over a piece of furniture if it was loaded with clothes; For this reason, a hook was placed on the back of the closet that allowed it to be fixed to the wall. Nowadays, the lightness of modern mirrors, made possible by their thinness, allows them to be fixed to each door, although it is still convenient to use wall anchoring systems.

Another form of cupboard is the ice cupboard, which consisted of a very thick wooden chest, one of whose compartments contained blocks of ice that were used to keep food fresh. In France, this type of cabinet could still be seen in food stores (butcher shops, cheese shops, fishmongers, etc.) until the early 1950s.

Frankfurt cabinet

The Frankfurt wardrobe is a baroque two-door wardrobe or wardrobe common in the city of Frankfurt with a clear architectural structure system. It was made of spruce with walnut or solid oak veneer. Examples without pine veneer are generally contemporary replicas. Thanks to its design, all cabinets can be disassembled into several individual pieces and reassembled in just a few steps, without the need for tools, but two people are required.

The cabinets were in demand as masterpieces of Frankfurt carpentry, but could also have been commissioned by patrician families. The original purpose was to store household linens and clothing; the size was intended to illustrate the existing bedding supply of the owning family. Historical examples were and are most often used as filing cabinets, for example in the operating rooms of the Frankfurt City Hall or on banks.

Kas style

Kas, kast or kasten (pronounced kaz) is a huge cupboard or wardrobe of Dutch origin similar to a wardrobe that was popular in the Netherlands and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was equipped with shelves and drawers that were used to store different types of clothing and other valuables and was locked. They were status symbols and family heirlooms in the Netherlands and luxury items imported to the American colonies. As such, they were often made of quality wood, such as cherry, rosewood and ebony, and were veneered, carved or painted.[21]​.

Cupboard of Seven Keys

The Cabinet of the Seven Keys (until 1978 of the Six Keys), in Catalan the Armari de les Set Claus, keeps the documentary collection of Andorra and opens with seven keys held by the seven consuls of the seven parishes that make up that country.[22] It is located in the Casa de la Vall, where the General Council of Andorra meets.

• !18th century wardrobe, closed bed and bench from the Cornec house in Saint-Rivoal in Finistère

18th century wardrobe, closed bed and bench from the Cornec house in Saint-Rivoal in Finistère

• !Art deco wardrobe made in France in the 1930s.

Art deco wardrobe made in France in the 1930s.

• !Storing clothes in a closet.

Storing clothes in a closet.

• !Reproduction of an 18th century wardrobe.

Reproduction of an 18th century wardrobe.

• !Replica of a period wardrobe (Chantilly wardrobe), Louis XV style.

Replica of a period wardrobe (Chantilly wardrobe), Louis XV style.

• "Directoire" wardrobe replica of an old model, directire style.

"Directoire" wardrobe replica of an old model, directire style.

• Two-body cabinet with divinities - Second half of the 16th century.

Wardrobe of two bodies with divinities - Second half of the 16th century.

• Two-section wardrobe - second third of the 16th century.

Two-section wardrobe - second third of the 16th century.

• Wardrobe with parrots made by Boulle around 1680/1690-1700 (Louvre Museum).

Wardrobe with parrots made by Boulle around 1680/1690-1700 (Louvre Museum).

• "Armoire d'Aubazine" with wrought iron locks and hinges, the oldest "liturgical armoire" (Conditiora) in France (probably from the beginning of the 13th century.

"Armoire d'Aubazine" with wrought iron locks and hinges, the oldest "liturgical armoire" (Conditiora) in France (probably from the beginning of the 13th century.

• !Wardrobe dating from the 14th century, today used in the house of the Sainte-Marie church in Corneilla-de-Conflent (France).

Wardrobe dating from the 14th century, today used in the house of the Sainte-Marie de Corneilla-de-Conflent church (France).

• !Wardrobe from the early 17th century from the charterhouse of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, currently in the Musée Pierre-de-Luxembourg in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon.

Wardrobe from the early 17th century from the charterhouse of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, currently in the Musée Pierre-de-Luxembourg in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon.

• !Wardrobe made by André-Charles Boulle. Louvre Museum

Wardrobe made by André-Charles Boulle. Louvre Museum

• !Wardrobe, commissioned for the Concert Hall of the Tuileries Palace. Ebony, red tortoiseshell and brass, 1834. Georges-Alphonse Jacob-Desmalter. Louvre Museum.

Wardrobe, commissioned for the Concert Hall of the Tuileries Palace. Ebony, red tortoiseshell and brass, 1834. Georges-Alphonse Jacob-Desmalter. Louvre Museum.

• Sideboard

• Chest

• Wardrobe (clothing)

• Wardrobe

• Drawer

• Chest of drawers

• Cabinet (furniture)

• Shoe rack (furniture)

• Come out of the closet.

• Rodríguez Bernis, Sofia. Furniture Dictionary. Madrid: Ministry of Culture. General Subdirectorate of State Museums, December 20, 2005. ISBN 978-84-8181-268-8. https://libreria.cultura.gob.es/libro/diccionario-de-mobiliario\_3135/edicion/ebook-3676/.

• !Wd Data: Q106106

• !Commonscat Multimedia: Wardrobes / Q106106.