Antique French upright vitrine (display cabinet)

A French word for a display cabinet, from the French 'vitre', or glass, and usually applied to a display cabinet of French origin. They were introduced in a modest way in 18th century France and became popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some vitrines have a mirrored back allowing viewing of both the back and front of the objects displayed. They are often embellished with ormolu mounts and painted or lacquered panels, and the style was copid in England in the late 19th century when the Louis XV style was in vogue.