Cabinet
ca. 1700 (made)
Not currently on display at the V&A
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place Of Origin |
This chest of drawers was made in England in about 1700. It was decorated with marquetry, then at its most fashionable, and a form of veneer made up of small pieces of natural and artificially coloured woods and applied to all types of furniture, ranging from tables and cabinets to long case clocks. The patterns derived from Dutch still-lives of flowers, particularly tulips, and elaborate scrollwork, devised by French cabinetmakers such as Pierre and Cornelius Gole and André-Charles Boulle, famed for his bronze, pewter and tortoiseshell veneers. Rather than being cut into the carcase wood like inlay, marquetry is glued to the surface.
object details
| Categories | |
| Object Type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 7 parts.
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| Materials and Techniques | Walnut with marquetry of sycamore and lighter woods |
| Brief Description | Walnut cabinet; England; 1700 |
| Physical Description | CABINET English: about 1700 Walnut with marquetry of sycamore and a lighter walnut. Oblong form with projecting base and top. On the top, a panel with semi-circular ends, containing a symmetrical design of leafy stems (seaweed marquetry). Five drawers in four tiers, the topmost layer containing a pair of drawers. Drawer partitions fronted with rounded beading. Marquetry designs on the drawer front. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Marquetry cabinet, gift of Sir Paul A Makins, Bt Notes from R.P. 36/2940 18/4/36 Letter, Makins to H Clifford Smith offers "a small cabinet …..in seaweed pattern…about the William & Mary period" 7/6/36 Report, Edwards "this small cabinet of walnut inlaid with arabesque marquetry, light on dark ground: the sides are decorated with figured walnut. The style of the inlay and the half round mouldings between the drawers indicate a date about 1700…..cabinet of such small size is rare & this is an attractive example. It has lost its original turned handles & there are traces of Victorian repairs, but it is substantially genuine and of the period". Minute, H Clifford Smith to Director Requests the Director's acceptance for this "very high class example of English 'seaweed' marquetry….except for the small repairs…appears to be original throughout". Correspondence, Smith with Makins Makins later expresses his disappointment that the V & A displayed the miniature cabinet without removing the brass escutcheons from it. Smith writes to him 3 July to say the escutcheons had been taken off and the cabinet looks better without them. |
| Summary | This chest of drawers was made in England in about 1700. It was decorated with marquetry, then at its most fashionable, and a form of veneer made up of small pieces of natural and artificially coloured woods and applied to all types of furniture, ranging from tables and cabinets to long case clocks. The patterns derived from Dutch still-lives of flowers, particularly tulips, and elaborate scrollwork, devised by French cabinetmakers such as Pierre and Cornelius Gole and André-Charles Boulle, famed for his bronze, pewter and tortoiseshell veneers. Rather than being cut into the carcase wood like inlay, marquetry is glued to the surface. |
| Collection | |
| Accession Number | W.14:1 to 7-1936 |
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| record created | November 30, 2005 |
| Record URL |