Antique Free Standing Dutch Mahogany Marquetry Bedside Cabinet Pedestal 19th C

This is a stunning antique early 19th Century Dutch floral marquetry side cabinet, circa 1820 in date.

This splendid cabinet has been accomplished in striking mahogany. The top decorated with a plethora of exquisite hand cut marquetry of bird, flowers and foliage, the single door is centred by a beautiful urn of flowering stems, the sides and back similarly decorated with floral and foliage marquetry and raised on a plinth base.

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

Condition:

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

Dimensions in cm:

Height 73 x Width 47 x Depth 36

Dimensions in inches:

Height 2 foot, 5 inches x Width 1 foot, 6 inches x Depth 1 foot, 2 inches

Marquetry

is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) of different colours are inserted into 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 shell and brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs.

Our reference: A2065