Cabinet
ca. 1800 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This cabinet is one of the most luxurious made by the firm of Jacob Frères of Paris. It is veneered in amboyna wood, which has rich markings and sets off well the large-scale gilt-bronze mounts. The mounts, which show different figures of Venus, may have been made by the gilt-bronze specialist Pierre-Philippe Thomire. A close friend and business associate of one of the Jacob brothers, Thomire was famous for making large-scale mounts of high quality such as this.
Little is known of the history of this cabinet, but it belonged in 1969 to the Ruspoli Talleyrand Collection in the Villa Imperiale in Florence. It may originally have come from the collection of Napoleon I's minister, the Duc de Talleyrand. The high quality of both design and materials would be appropriate for such a client, but it is also possible that the cabinet was simply purchased by his descendants at some time in the 19th century.
Little is known of the history of this cabinet, but it belonged in 1969 to the Ruspoli Talleyrand Collection in the Villa Imperiale in Florence. It may originally have come from the collection of Napoleon I's minister, the Duc de Talleyrand. The high quality of both design and materials would be appropriate for such a client, but it is also possible that the cabinet was simply purchased by his descendants at some time in the 19th century.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Oak, veneered with amboyna, with a slab of brocatelle marble |
| Brief description | Veneered in amboyna on oak, the cabinet set with large-scale gilt-bronze and bronze mounts, including figures of Venus; the slab of Spanish brocatelle marble |
| Physical description | Cabinet on a deep plinth, veneered in amboyna on oak, the three doors set between free-standing bronze caryatid figures, the doors set with three gilt-bronze mounts showing Venus, the plinth and frieze richly embellished with gilt-bronze mounts. The slab is of Spanish brocatelle marble |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | JACOB FRERES
RUE MESLEE (Stamp of Jacob Frères, used between 1796 and 1803) |
| Gallery label |
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| Object history | This cabinet formed part of the Ruspoli-Talleyrand collection in the Villa Imperiale, Florence, before sale in May 1969. Some of the objects in this collection had originally belonged to Napoleon's minister, the duc de Talleyrand. Although this cabinet is certainly grand enough to have belonged to Talleyrand, it is also possible that it entered the collection much later in the 19th century. A smaller, double-doored cabinet by Jacob-Desmalter, in the Musee Marmotton, uses the same door mounts and star mounts. See Denise Ledoux-Lebard, 'A Notable Collection of Empire Furniture', Apollo, June 1976, vol. CIII, no. 172, fig 10. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This cabinet is one of the most luxurious made by the firm of Jacob Frères of Paris. It is veneered in amboyna wood, which has rich markings and sets off well the large-scale gilt-bronze mounts. The mounts, which show different figures of Venus, may have been made by the gilt-bronze specialist Pierre-Philippe Thomire. A close friend and business associate of one of the Jacob brothers, Thomire was famous for making large-scale mounts of high quality such as this. Little is known of the history of this cabinet, but it belonged in 1969 to the Ruspoli Talleyrand Collection in the Villa Imperiale in Florence. It may originally have come from the collection of Napoleon I's minister, the Duc de Talleyrand. The high quality of both design and materials would be appropriate for such a client, but it is also possible that the cabinet was simply purchased by his descendants at some time in the 19th century. |
| Bibliographic reference | Art & Design in Europe and America 1800-1900. Introduction by Simon Jervis (London: The Herbert Press, 1987), pp. 22-3. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.9-1971 |
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| Record created | June 1, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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