Curio Cabinet
Curio cabinets offer a peek at novel or rare objects behind their glass doors
A curio is a unique or rare small object, sometimes art, usually intriguing, having a special meaning to the collector. A curio cabinet is a piece of furniture with glass doors that displays these curious items, often grouped because of their similarities.
Curio cabinets are built to both display and protect the objects within. Glass doors allow the viewer to see the seashells inside this wooden cabinet without handling them, and the shells are protected from dust and insects.
The objects in a curio cabinet are usually related in theme, making a collection that has a purpose, nostalgic meaning or personal significance.
Curio cabinets were most popular in the 18th century; they sometimes have glass shelves and mirrored backs to enhance the view.
These built-in curio cabinets house a collection of mini liquor bottles. Groups of objects can be visually interesting no matter how trivial the object itself is.
Open shelving on a backlit glass wall creates a modern version of the curio cabinet here. These fossils and other oddities in specimen jars have the very qualities that make curios so appealing: they're bizarre, rare or striking.
A curio collection doesn't have to be behind glass. These antique kitchen tools are artfully displayed on the wooden shelves of this built-in hutch; a red theme visually ties them together.
These custom wall displays of duck decoys take the idea of a curio cabinet to a grand scale.