Wardrobes and Closets
Introduction
A wardrobe, showcase (in Venezuela and Cuba),[1][2] closet (in Latin America),[3] sideboard (in the Philippines),[4] wardrobe, wardrobe, closet or closet (in Río de la Plata),[5][6] is a piece of furniture for storing things or other belongings closed by means of doors, in whose interior distribution there may be shelves, hangers for hangers and drawers, designed to store things.[7] The doors can be swinging or sliding, the latter being used in places with narrow passages, since they require less space.
The closet is typical of any room in the house, adapting its shape and dimensions to the use for which it is intended:.
The built-in wardrobe is the one with only the front part visible, with the rest attached by construction to the walls or partitions of the room in which it is located. In the Río de la Plata it is known as placard or placar. Spaces set up as dressing rooms are usually lined with cabinets without doors.
Etymology
The word comes from the Latin armarĭum, a place where artifacts or weapons are kept.[8] In turn, arma (plural collective) comes from ars, art or craft, and refers to any set of objects resulting from an art or craft. The subsequent evolution of the word weapon can lead to confusion. But it is not possible to categorically conclude that the closet was originally used only to store weapons,[9] since the word also refers to the furniture in which books were kept in the Roman libraries mentioned by Vitruvius. The armarium was also mentioned by Cato the Elder,[10] Plautus,[11] Pliny the Younger,[12] and Cicero, and several models are depicted in paintings from Pompeii.
History
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].