Cabinet on Chest thumbnail 1
Cabinet on Chest thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Not currently on display at the V&A
On display at Topsham Museum and Holman House, Exeter

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Cabinet on Chest

1688 (made), 1800-1880 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
England (made)

On loan to Topsham Museum, Exeter


Object details

Categories
Furniture
Woodwork
Object type
Cabinet on chest
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Cabinet
  • Keys
Materials and techniques
Pine veneered with walnut, drawer linings are of oak. Marquetry of walnut, rosewood and holly. Brass mounts; two iron keys, one modern
Pine
Walnut
Holly
Rosewood
Brass
Oak
Marquetry
Brief description
Cabinet on chest, walnut marquetry, English, dated 1688
Physical description
Cabinet on chest, of walnut decorated with marquetry and brass mounts.

The upper cabinet has two doors enclosing eleven drawers and a cupboard in the centre. Above the cabinet section is a moulded cornice and an avalo frieze, the front of which forms a drawer. The outer door fronts are inlaid with oval panels of arabesque marquetry incorporating the date 1688, bordered by a plain band of cross—grained walnut veneer. The decoration consists of shaped panels of marquetry with designs of scrolls in the form of grotesque faces, foliage and birds. Each of the corner sections is inlaid with a bird perched in a band of foliate scrollwork. The inside of the door panels are decorated with marquetry depicting birds perched in stylized trees. The panels on each side of the cabinet bear the initial 'H'. The central door of the inner cupboard is inlaid with a equestrian figure wearing a royal crown, the horse id being held by a page, and a butterfly hovers over the horse head. The initials 'T.W.I.' accompany the figures.

The lower portion of the cabinet has a long drawer above and three shorter ones below, decorated with shaped panels of similar marquetry, on rosewood in the form of scrolls and grotesque masks. Although similar coloured woods are used, there is little correspondence witrh the marquetry in the upper section. The whole rests on shaped feet.
Dimensions
  • Top section height: 31.5in
  • Top section width: 43in
  • Top section depth: 19.75in
  • Base section height: 36in
  • Base section weight: 43.5in
  • Base section depth: 20in
Measured from the object, 1998. Measurements taken from paper records: HWD 5ft 7.5ins x 3ft 8ins x 1 ft 8 3/8ins
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'H' (Part of the marquetry design on the left side. )
  • 'T.W.I.' (Part of the marquetry design of the inner central cupboard door. )
  • '1688' (Part of the marquetry running across both doors. )
Object history
Bought for £100 from C.P.D. Maclagan, 3 Penywern Road, London SW 'The surface has been partly repolished' (no other information about the cabinet on file.)
RF 1911/1412M, 1911/309M
Mr Maclagan was evidently a collector of varied artworks (not notably of furniture).

Formerly on loan to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (terminated c1984).
Conservation treatments 17/8/1987.
On loan at Topsham Museum, c.1988.
Historical context
Comparable pieces:
- William and Mary walnut, laburnam and floral marquetry chest, Christie's London, 04/06/1998, Lot No. 134
- Charles II walnut, burr-oak and marquetry chest, Christie's London, 23/04/2009, Lot No. 84
- 18th C walnut marquetry inlaid chest on stand, The Cheshire Saleroom, Macclesfield, Antiques Trade Gazette 25/10/2014
- late 17th cenury William and Mary period walnut chest of drawers, with arabesque design deaweed marquetry panels, c. 1680-90 from Walton House Antiques at Mayfair, Antiques Trade Gazette 27/12/2014 + 03/01/2015
Subjects depicted
Horsemen
Scrolls
Birds
Flowers
Foliage
Summary
On loan to Topsham Museum, Exeter
Bibliographic references
  • E. Alfred Jones M.A., F.R,Hist.S., Some Old English Furniture Makers, part 1, in Connoisseur May1920 (vol. LVII), pp.23-27, ill. p.25
  • Adam Bowett, English Furniture 1660-1714, (Woodbridge, 2002), pls.7:4-6, p.198 The stand to this cabinet has been lost and replaced by a chest of drawers. This two-dimensional style of marquetry mimics the marquetry in metal recently introduced from France. Note that the marquetry on the six smaller drawers [internal) is identical, as is that on the four larger ones. This enabled the marqueteur to cut the veneers in packets, thereby saving both labour and money. The trio of initials on the central door is unusual and is more commonly found on provincial or vernacular furniture. They probably commemorate a marriage. The metalwork is probably original. Four woods are used in the marquetry - a plain, straight-grained walnut for the background (pale brown), padouk (red) and ebony (black) for the foliage, and holly (white) for the tendrils. The original effect would have been very striking. Note the white/black stringing, commonly found throughout the period 1680-1710.
  • Gregory, Edward. 'The Furniture Collector: An introduction to the study of English styles of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, London, 1916, illustrated with furniture from English public and private collections', London, 1916.
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
W.14:1, 2-1911

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O299357/cabinet-on-chest-unknown/
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