INLAID CABINET Probably France or Italy, first half of the 17th century.

INLAID CABINET

Probably France or Italy, first half of the 17th century.
Various woods, partly blackened and inlaid with ivory in rectangular reserves, engraved with grotesque figures, arabesques, harpies, cornucopias, leaves, and bouquets of fruit. The two doors feature inlays in the form of musketeers. The upper section of the cabinet is architectural in form, the front structured as a façade with 24 drawers and one door. The side walls are paneled and inlaid with fillets. Gilt bronze decorations in the form of cherubs, male busts, grotesque faces, rosettes, and an unidentified episcopal coat of arms in the center. Three vases, two made of agate and one of marble with bronze flowers (incomplete, with chips). Secret drawer on the back. In addition: A later table base, 20th century, with a straight, single-drawer frame on pyramid legs.
Cabinet: 77 × 42 × 98.5 cm. Table base: 90 × 47.5 × 83.5 cm.
Cracks, losses, signs of use. The inlays with later repairs and supplements.

Provenance:
The Arlette and Antony Embden Collection, France.

The model for the upper inlaid cavalier figure is based on an engraving entitled “Le gentilhomme au manteau bordé de fourrures tenant ses mains derrière le dos” from Jacques Callot's (c. 1592–1635) series “La noblesse” from 1620/1623 (cf. Louvre, Inv. No. L 45 LR/676 Recto). Another comparison for the figurative inlays can be found on a casket from the National Historical Museum in Stockholm (Inv. No. 41539_HST), which is described as a work from the 17th/18th century.

This object, made from protected materials, is located at the Koller representative office in Munich (viewing by appointment only in Munich). An EU trade license is available; export outside the EU is not possible.

Saleroom Notice >>