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Not currently on display at the V&A

Cabinet

1621 (made), 1861 (made)
Place of origin
Spain (made)

Veneered in hardwood and engraved ivory, dated 1621; restored or possibly created in the 19th century. A later stand deaccessioned.

Object details

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

  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Keys
  • Cabinet Stand
  • Cabinet
Brief description
Veneered in hardwood and engraved ivory, dated 1621; restored or possibly created in the 19th century. A later stand deaccessioned.
Dimensions
  • Height: 22.5cm
  • Weight: 58kg (Note: Weight of 340A/1,2+3)
Door dims: H:22.5cm W:15.6cm D:1.5cm
Object history
Bought from Jean Palmeza, Madrid, for £70.
Art Referee report:
"Walnut wood cabinet on stand of architectural design with falling front and drawers - within ornamented with inlaid work, metal mounts &c. the interior is enriched with columns & other members of the Doric order, & with marqueterie of ebony and ivory. The fronts of the drawers have allegorical & other classical figures, & the door of the central cupboard an equestrian figure of a roman warrior in incised or engraved ivory. The date (anno 1621) is also seen in the interior. This beautiful cabinet is probably from the deisgn of some eminent Spanish architect of the period indicated. Height 4 ft. 10 1/2. W. 3 ft. 11. Depth 1 ft. 6 1/2. Purchased of Palmeza - Madrid. Price £70"
Historical context
Comparable cabinets
Cabinet, probably Augsburg, c1620-30, pine and oak, veneered with ebony, coromandel, snakewood and ivory (HWD: 57.5 x 86.5 x 38.5cm); Rijksmuseum inv. BK-NM-13188, in Reinier Baarsen, Duitse meubelen (German furniture), Amsterdam : Rijksmuseum ; Zwolle : Waanders, 1998, no.5
Bibliographic references
  • Ancient and Modern Furniture & Woodwork in the South Kensington Museum, described with an introduction by John Hungerford Pollen, (London, 1874), p. 77. Cabinet, on Stand. Root of walnut wood, inlaid and mounted in metal; with falling front and drawers. The interior is ornamented with ebony and ivory in allegorical figures. Spanish. Dated 1621. H. 4 ft. 10 ½ in., L. 3 ft. 11 in., W. I ft. 6 ½ in. Bought, 70l The stand - a table stand, with two drawers—is a modern restoration. The front is furnished with two sets of iron knobs, gilt, in the shape of scallop shells. These are for the top to rest on when down. Another set over the central lock plate has been replaced by a modern substitute. The external inlay is in plain rectangular patterns; the inside has figures representing virtues and vices, fairly designed. The lock plate is of pierced metal, of a bookbinder’s design. The drawer locks have similar mounts, reproductions, the originals having been loft or broken. They are laid over red cloth, which has, probably, replaced red velvet. The angles of this cabinet are bound with plain metal work.
  • Juan F. Riaño, Classified and Descriptive Catalogue of the Art Objects of Spanish Production in the South Kensington Museum. (London, 1872), p.5 Cabinet, on Stand. Walnut wood, inlaid and mounted in metal; with falling front and drawers. The interior is ornamented with ebony and ivory in allegorical figures. Spanish. Dated 1621. H. 4 ft. 10 ½ in., L. 3 ft. 11 in., W. I ft. 6 ½ in. Bought, 70l The exterior of this cabinet, and the table on which it stands, is the work of the middle of the last century. Probably an arrangement of theinerior and older part."
  • South Kensington Museum, John Charles Robinson, J. C Robinson, and R. Clay, Sons and Taylor. 1881. Catalogue of the Special Loan Exhibition of Spanish and Portuguese Ornamental Art: South Kensington Museum, 1881. London: Chapman & Hall, p.121
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
340A/3-1866

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Record createdMarch 11, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O110134/cabinet/
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