Offered by Laurent Chalvignac
Large cabinet in blackened and painted wood, inlaid with burgau, with gilded decoration of cities and Asian landscapes, a European interpretation of Japanese lacquerwork, known as “Namban”.
It is composed of twelve drawers, arranged around a central niche decorated with floral landscapes and birds, opening through two doors, revealing eight small drawers; the cabinet is topped at the top by a wide cornice in doucine, richly inlaid with burgau.
The cabinet rests on its original base, consisting of a wide entablature with two drawers, decorated with three scalloped plastrons in the lower part, supported by seven twisted feet, half faceted in the lower part, resting on a straight plinth on eight balls.
French or Dutch work, late 17th century. These cabinets were generally considered to be Dutch, but in the collection of the Musée de la Musique in Paris there is a late 17th-century cabinet with Japanese decoration that is well certified as French.
Similar cabinets at the RIJKSMUSEUM in AMSTERDAM and the SUNTORY MUSEUM OF ART in TOKYO
Size overall in inches : wide 62 X depth 24 X height 74