Not currently on display at the V&A

Cabinet

ca. 1675 (made)
Artist/Maker
Grand Ducal Workshops (made)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

This cabinet includes an iconic pattern of birds and flowers which was developed in the 1620s, during the golden age of Florentine hardstone production. The provenance of the cabinet can be traced as far back as 1700, to Burley on the Hill, the stately house of Daniel Finch (1647-1730), 2nd Earl of Nottingham and 7th Earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham. Some of the birds are finches, so he may have commissioned those panels as a witty allusion to his family name and crest while on his Grand Tour of Italy in 1665-8.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
On long-term loan to Los Angeles County Museum from 2010.


Object details

Category
Furniture
Object type
Cabinet
Parts
This object consists of 5 parts.

  • Cabinet
  • Base
  • Stand
  • Key
  • Key
Materials and techniques
Pietre dure, jasper, lapis lazuli, marble, ebony, marquetry of various woods, rosewood, gilt bronze, silk
Hardstones
Jasper
Lapis Lazuli
Marble
Ebony
Wood
Rosewood
Gilt Bronze
Pietre Dure
Inlay (Process)
Inlay (Process)
Inlay (Process)
Carving
Marquetry
Carving
Gilding
Casting
Brief description
Pietre dure and cabinet, Florence, Grand Ducal workhops, 17th century.
Physical description
Cabinet with ebony veneer and architectural facade. The central door, the lower central panel and the four drawers on each side are decorated with pietre dure panels of flowers and birds. The doors open to reveal two inner doors faced with rosewood. The pediment consists of a moulded ebony cornice with a tympanum inlaid with lapis lazuli surmounted by five gilt bronze statues. The stand has an upper section with three drawers faced in panels of marquetry, the drawer on the right contains five secret drawers lined in silk.
Dimensions
  • Part cabinet height height: 90cm (Note: Measurements from LACMA condition report)
  • Part cabinet width width: 122.5cm (Note: Measurements from LACMA condition report)
  • Part cabinet depth depth: 40.5cm (Note: Measurements from LACMA condition report)
  • Part stand inc. base height height: 130cm (Note: Measurements from LACMA condition report)
  • Part stand inc. base depth depth: 45.5cm (Note: Measurements from LACMA condition report)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham and 7th Earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, Burley on the Hill, Oakham, Rutland, 1700. Anon. sale, Christie's, London, lot 91, 25/11/1971.
Summary
This cabinet includes an iconic pattern of birds and flowers which was developed in the 1620s, during the golden age of Florentine hardstone production. The provenance of the cabinet can be traced as far back as 1700, to Burley on the Hill, the stately house of Daniel Finch (1647-1730), 2nd Earl of Nottingham and 7th Earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham. Some of the birds are finches, so he may have commissioned those panels as a witty allusion to his family name and crest while on his Grand Tour of Italy in 1665-8.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
On long-term loan to Los Angeles County Museum from 2010.
Bibliographic references
  • Christie's, Review of the Season. London: Hutchinson, 1972, p. 373.
  • Avery, Charles, assisted by Arthur Emperatori. Mosaics from the Gilbert Collection: summary catalogue. Exhibition catalogue Victoria & Albert Museum. London: H.M.S.O. 1975. Cat. no. 49.
  • Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar. The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection, Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1977. 143 p., ill. Cat. no. 3. ISBN 0875870805.
  • Giusti, Anna Maria, ed. Il Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure a Firenze. Milan: Electa 1978, p. 292
  • Massinelli, Anna Maria with contributions by Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel. Hardstones: The Gilbert Collection. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 329 p., ill. Cat. no. 4, pp. 38-40. ISBN 0856675105.
  • Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar and Steffi Röttgen with essays by Steffi Röttgen, Claudia Przyborowski; essays and new catalogue material translated by Alla Theodora Hall. The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1982. 224 p., ill. Cat. no. 3. ISBN 0875871097
  • Williams, Elizabeth A. The Gilbert Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), 2010, fig. 31, p. 60. ISBN 9780875872100
  • The Gilbert Mosaic Collection, Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1975 30
  • Minter, Alice et al. Masterpieces in Miniature: Treasures from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection. London: V&A Publishing, 2021, p.79, cat.52
Other numbers
  • MM 112 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • L.2010.9.1a-e - LACMA Loan Number 2010
  • SG 189 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.73-2008

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Record createdJune 26, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157855/cabinet-grand-ducal-workshops/
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