16TH CENTURY, WITH SOME 19TH CENTURY REPLACEMENTS

Details

AN ITALIAN RENAISSANCE WALNUT CABINET
16TH CENTURY, WITH SOME 19TH CENTURY REPLACEMENTS
Comprising two sections, each with two cabinet doors carved with complementary perspectival views of an arcade, the sides of both portions similary carved, the center with two pull-out drawers separated by animal heads, on spreading feet, inscribed numerous times in white and yellow 36770 and once in crossed-out white chalk 76770, the drawers similarly labeled
66¾ in. (179.5 cm.) high, 62½ in. (159 cm.) wide, 23½ in. (59.5 cm.) deep

Provenance

(Possibly) with Blumka, New York.
Richard and Erna Flagg, Milwaukee and Sutton Place, New York.

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

This cabinet, with its sophisticated and unusual panels depicting archways, immediately evokes the Renaissance fascination with perspective and its exploration in architecture and painting. For the decorative arts, much of this trompe l'oeil work was done using marquetry -- with one of the most spectacular examples being the Gubbio studiolo now installed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. However, the carving of single, solid panels, such as the panels in the present cabinet, was far more difficult to achieve than in marquetry. Therefore the present cabinet is both an extremely unusual and rare survival. There is one cabinet that is closely related, with similar perspectival panels, in the Fondazione Carlo Marchi, Florence (R. Ferrazza, Palazzo Davanzati e le collezioni di Elia Volpi, Florence, 1994, p. 64).

More from Renaissance

View All