What is an 18th-century Dutch marquetry cabinet on chest?

A Dutch marquetry cabinet on chest is a two-part piece of storage furniture originating from the Netherlands during the 17th and 18th centuries. It combines an upper display cabinet or bookcase with a lower chest of drawers, decorated with intricate wood veneer marquetry.

What materials were traditionally used to construct Dutch marquetry cabinets?

These cabinets were constructed primarily using walnut, oak, and native fruitwoods. The decorative floral patterns were formed using contrasting wood veneers, while handles and escutcheons were cast in brass.

How can authentic 18th-century Dutch marquetry furniture be identified?

Authentic period pieces feature hand-cut dovetail joinery, solid oak drawer linings, and natural hand-cut irregularities in the veneer. The marquetry designs typically depict floral urns, foliage, or birds set into figured walnut backgrounds.

How can a Dutch marquetry cabinet be styled in a contemporary interior?

Positioning this substantial piece against a neutral or dark painted wall creates a focal point in a dining room, hallway, or drawing room. Modern ambient lighting highlights the detailed timber grain and inlaid wood patterns.

How should antique walnut marquetry furniture be cleaned and maintained?

Maintain the finish by keeping the timber away from direct sunlight and heat sources to prevent veneer lifting. Apply a high-quality natural beeswax polish along the grain annually and dust regularly with a soft cloth.

for sale €3,452 $3,747

£2,950

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18th Century Display Cabinet

Id #SA1209220

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Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century

Name: Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century
Brand: Antique
SKU: SA1209220
Price: 2950 GBP
Availability: InStock

18th century

For Sale by Regent Antiques

Description

This is a stunning antique Dutch marquetry walnut cabinet on chest, circa 1780 in date.

It has been accomplished in walnut with exquisite hand-cut boxwood and fruitwood floral marquetry typical of the period.

The cabinet has a single-glazed door and glazed sides and it stands on a bombe serpentine fronted marquetry chest of drawers. The chest features fabulous marquetry decoration of floral bouquets on each side which highlight the beauty of this piece.

It has chased ormolu handles and escutcheons and is complete with the original working steel locks and keys.

This exceptional piece represents a fantastic example of 18th-century Dutch marquetry cabinetry at its very finest.

Condition:

In really excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 192 cm x Width 113 cm x Depth 57 cm

Dimensions in inches:

Height 6 foot, 4 inches x Width 3 foot, 8 inches x Depth 1 foot, 10 inches

Fruitwood

is the wood of any of numerous fruit-bearing trees, such as the cherry, pear or apple used mainly in cabinetmaking. Most of the fruitwoods have fine, smooth texture and good shaping features and are considered to be the best cabinet woods.

Marquetry

is decorative artistry where pieces of material of different colours are inserted into the surface wood veneer to form intricate patterns such as scrolls or flowers.

The technique of veneered marquetry had its inspiration in 16th-century Florence. Marquetry elaborated upon Florentine techniques of inlaying solid marble slabs with designs formed of fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This work, called opere di commessi, has medieval parallels in Central Italian "Cosmati"-work of inlaid marble floors, altars and columns. The technique is known in English as pietra dura, for the "hardstones" used: onyx, jasper, cornelian, lapis lazuli and colored marbles. In Florence, the Chapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo is completely covered in a colored marble facing using this demanding jig-sawn technique.

Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the mid-seventeenth century, to create furniture of unprecedented luxury being made at the royal manufactory of the Gobelins, charged with providing furnishings to decorate Versailles and the other royal residences of Louis XIV. Early masters of French marquetry were the Fleming Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle, who founded a dynasty of royal and Parisian cabinet-makers (ébénistes) and gave his name to a technique of marquetry employing brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs.

Walnut & Burr Walnut

Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.

Burr walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.

Our reference: 07076x

Physical Dimensions

Height

192cm (75.59")

Width

113cm (44.49")

Depth

57cm (22.44")

Declaration

Regent Antiques has dated this Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet to the 18th Century.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA1209220

Dealers Internal Reference

07076x

Description

This is a stunning antique Dutch marquetry walnut cabinet on chest, circa 1780 in date.

“

It has been accomplished in walnut with exquisite hand-cut boxwood and fruitwood floral marquetry typical of the period.

Regent Antiques

fig 1. An 18th-century Dutch walnut cabinet on chest featuring detailed floral marquetry inlay, an arched bonnet top with glass doors, and four brass-handled drawers. — fig 1. Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century

The cabinet has a single-glazed door and glazed sides and it stands on a bombe serpentine fronted marquetry chest of drawers. The chest features fabulous marquetry decoration of floral bouquets on each side which highlight the beauty of this piece.

fig 2. An 18th-century Dutch walnut cabinet on chest featuring detailed floral marquetry inlay, an arched bonnet top with glass doors, and four brass-handled drawers. — fig 2. Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century

It has chased ormolu handles and escutcheons and is complete with the original working steel locks and keys.

This exceptional piece represents a fantastic example of 18th-century Dutch marquetry cabinetry at its very finest.

fig 3. An 18th-century Dutch walnut cabinet on chest featuring detailed floral marquetry inlay, an arched bonnet top with glass doors, and four brass-handled drawers. — fig 3. Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century

Condition:

In really excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 192 cm x Width 113 cm x Depth 57 cm

fig 4. An 18th-century Dutch walnut cabinet on chest featuring detailed floral marquetry inlay, an arched bonnet top with glass doors, and four brass-handled drawers. — fig 4. Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century

Dimensions in inches:

Height 6 foot, 4 inches x Width 3 foot, 8 inches x Depth 1 foot, 10 inches

Fruitwood

is the wood of any of numerous fruit-bearing trees, such as the cherry, pear or apple used mainly in cabinetmaking. Most of the fruitwoods have fine, smooth texture and good shaping features and are considered to be the best cabinet woods.

Marquetry

is decorative artistry where pieces of material of different colours are inserted into the surface wood veneer to form intricate patterns such as scrolls or flowers.

The technique of veneered marquetry had its inspiration in 16th-century Florence. Marquetry elaborated upon Florentine techniques of inlaying solid marble slabs with designs formed of fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This work, called opere di commessi, has medieval parallels in Central Italian "Cosmati"-work of inlaid marble floors, altars and columns. The technique is known in English as pietra dura, for the "hardstones" used: onyx, jasper, cornelian, lapis lazuli and colored marbles. In Florence, the Chapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo is completely covered in a colored marble facing using this demanding jig-sawn technique.

fig 6. An 18th-century Dutch walnut cabinet on chest featuring detailed floral marquetry inlay, an arched bonnet top with glass doors, and four brass-handled drawers. — fig 6. Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century

Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the mid-seventeenth century, to create furniture of unprecedented luxury being made at the royal manufactory of the Gobelins, charged with providing furnishings to decorate Versailles and the other royal residences of Louis XIV. Early masters of French marquetry were the Fleming Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle, who founded a dynasty of royal and Parisian cabinet-makers (ébénistes) and gave his name to a technique of marquetry employing brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs.

fig 7. An 18th-century Dutch walnut cabinet on chest featuring detailed floral marquetry inlay, an arched bonnet top with glass doors, and four brass-handled drawers. — fig 7. Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century

Walnut & Burr Walnut

Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.

fig 8. An 18th-century Dutch walnut cabinet on chest featuring detailed floral marquetry inlay, an arched bonnet top with glass doors, and four brass-handled drawers. — fig 8. Antique Dutch Marquetry Walnut Cabinet on Chest 18th Century

Burr walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.

Our reference: 07076x