Kunst & Kunsthandwerk, Antiken

350 | A museum-quality ebony cabinet, Antwerp, mid-17th century The large cabinet veneered in ebony, with fittings of fire-gilt bronze. The pedestal with two lockable drawers. The cabinet with an arrangement of three pillars, the doors, sides and lid decorated with finely partitioned coffering. The hinged, lockable lid drawer with a concealed keyhole, the interior lined in blue silk. An old, octagonal mirror in the lid. The inside of the cabinet with an architectural structure, the side drawers and the doors adorned with fine silk embroidery, three-dimensional in places (slightly worn here and there). The central door opens to reveal a further nine small drawers. Several concealed drawers and various secret com- partments. Original, gilt locks and fittings, some of the keys replaced. The left side stamped “R” with a crown, presumably a French tax stamp, used between 1754 and 1749 for objects containing copper. Dimensions 80 x 84 x 42.5 cm. Extremely sumptuous cabinet of courtly quality. The embroidered silk interior is of the utmost rarity as it is extremely perishable, unlike cabi- nets embellished with metal or ivory décor. Thus, only very few speci- mens have survived. Similar pieces may be found in the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels or the Snyders&Rockox House Museum in Antwerp, for example. A virtually identical cabinet can be seen in the painting entitled “Vanité” by Cornelis de Vos (1584 - 1651), which today forms part of the collec- tion of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig. 260177 I - II € 25.000