Lot 258
  • 258

A Louis XIII carved ebony, fruitwood, rosewood, bone and ebony inlaid cabinet, third quarter 17th century

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
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Description

  • Ebony, ivory, rosewood, bone
  • 185cm. high, 160cm. wide, 60.5cm. deep; 6ft. 1in., 5ft. 3in., 2ft.
the upper part with a pair of doors centred by panels depicting Susannah and the Elders and Judith with the head of Holofernes, within cartouches framed by caryatids holding a broken pediment and flanked by pairs of Corinthian columns, enclosing twelve drawers and two inner doors carved with figures of Moses and King David opening to a stage-set mirrored caisson with sliding niche and further drawers; the lower frieze with scenes from the story of Joseph, the sides decorated with flower sprays enclosing classical busts; the later stand incorporating original elements including the back panel and front legs

Condition

This rare piece is in reasonable condition. There are marks and scratches overall consistent with age and use, and wear to varnish. Some chips to the carving, including but not limited to one c. 6cm. long on the upper moulding of the right inner door. One ivory handle is missing, the mirrored niche with some pitting consistent with age. The cabinet will need re-backing. The hinges, legs and undertier are later. Some shrinkage to the sides.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Related literature

D. Alcouffe (ed.), Un temps d'exhubérance: Les arts décoratifs sous Louis XIII et Anne d'Autriche, exh. cat., Paris, 2002

Th.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, "Novels in Ebony", Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 19 (1965), pp. 259-68

The present cabinet on stand belongs to a series of ebony cabinets created before the mid-17th century by chiefly Dutch craftsmen who had established themselves in Paris, such as Adriaan Garbrand and his son-in-law Pierre Gole (1620-1684), active in the faubourg Saint-Germain. These can normally be chronologically divided into three groups, the first presenting on the doors lozenge panels or cartouches within ripple moulded borders, the second framing the said panels within three pairs of pilasters alternated by two or three niches with carved figures, the third with an even more markedly architectural frame, which helps date the present piece to around 1650-60. See, for instance, another cabinet in a private collection illustrated in Alcouffe, op. cit., pp. 246-47.

Such cabinets were the perfect vehicle for showcasing tropical timbers such as ebony, rosewood and kingwood; other precious materials such as ivory or tortoiseshell were reserved for the interior. Oak and poplar carcases would be veneered with ebony carved in low-relief and engraved, whilst the stand would often be of ebonized pearwood.

A comparable cabinet, also on a later stand, and with carved biblical scenes, sold Christie's London, 7 December 2006, lot 42 (£38,400). Similar architectural mirrored interiors are found on the 'Endymion' cabinet now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. 1651:1 to 3-1856), and on one sold Christie's Amsterdam, 15 December 2004, lot 221.

A similar scene with Judith and the head of Holofernes is found on the lower frieze of a cabinet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 31.66a,b). A possible source for the panel can be found in an engraving by Jean Cousin the Younger (1522-1594) published in Figures de la Sainct Bible (1596, 1614).