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Cabinet
Guéret Frères - Enlarge image
Cabinet
- Place of origin:
Paris, France (made)
- Date:
1863-1867 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Guéret Frères (designer and maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Carved walnut
- Museum number:
W.17-1980
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This cabinet was made by the cabinet-making firm of Guéret Frères. The firm was founded in 1853 and continued in production until the end of the 19th century. From 1855 onwards it exhibited regularly at the great international exhibitions and often won medals. It was particularly noted for its carved furniture. This is a particularly fine example.
Like most French firms about 1850, Guéret Frères based their designs on revivals of 18th-century and earlier styles. The decoration of this cabinet follows the Louis XVI style of approximately 1774–93. The legs are in the form of tapered columns. There are many other references to classical decoration, including the swags of laurel, the vases or urns on the lower tier, and the figure of the dancing nymph on the main oval panel. In the 18th century such decoration on furniture was more commonly carried out in the form of applied gilt-bronze mounts or painted porcelain plaques. This is not the only aspect that Guéret Frères adapted for their new design. The overall form of the piece is a cabinet with glass doors for the display of porcelain or small sculpture. This was popular in the mid 19th century but would not have been known in the period of Louis XVI.
