Cabinet on stand, ebony, partly veneered on oak with carved and inlaid decoration, made by the firm of Henri-Auguste Fourdinois, Paris, 1861-7

Cabinet on stand, veneered in ebony and inlaid with carved panels of box, limewood, holly, pear, walnut and mahogany and with panels of hardstone, and set with carved figures in box

Purchased from the 1867 Paris Exhibition, where it had won the Grand Prix of the exhibition. The purchase price was £2,800, which contrasts with the price paid for the 17th-century ebony cabinet (inv. no. 1651-1856) in the following year, which cost £132. Henri-Auguste Fourdinois, of 46 rue Amelot, Paris, had patented his new form of inlay in 1864. The wood to be inlaid was cut thicker than the wood panel into which it was to be inlaid, so that the recess for it was cut right through the ground panel, which meant that the inlaid work could not move with changes in heat and humidity. The extra thickness was then carved with further detail, rather than the engraving that was used for inlays or marquetry of veneers.

A blotter cover of closely similar design is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. 1997.274). Another panel is in the collections of the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapesth.

The firm of Fourdinois first exhibited this cabinet at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867. Several reviews hailed it as the masterpiece of the exhibition, and it was awarded the Grand Prix. The newly founded South Kensington Museum (later the V&A) bought the cabinet for £2,750. This was a much higher price than the curators had paid for most other antique pieces. What attracted them was its exceptional craftsmanship. They hoped it would inspire British designers and makers. The makers used a new type of inlay on this cabinet, where the inlaid wood was also finely carved.

721:1 to 25-1869