A Dutch polychrome-decorated cabinet-on-stand

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Folk Art in The Netherlands - Dutch polychrome painted furniture From the middle of the 17th Century onwards painted furniture was made in the Northern parts of The Netherlands. The main centres of manufacture for these pieces where to be found in the Zaanstreek, a region in the North of Holland, the city of Hindeloopen and on the island Ameland. In major cities like Amsterdam these pieces were made by members of the so called 'witwerkers'. They were organised in a guild and were only allowed to produce furniture which was made out of soft-woods, such as pine. Besides making more practical objects like chests and trunks they also made cabinets. Subsequently these pieces were then painted by other specialised craftmen. As there were no guilds in the provinces, and due to the lack of information from written sources, we know little about how furniture making was organised in the countryside. Although it was long believed that the decorations were made by local farmers and fishermen, the quality of the work rules this out and points towards specialised local craftsmen. At present only a few painters have been traced. The decoration on the painted furniture derives from decorative motifs which can be seen on carved furniture. They also imitated marble and exotic woods. The main feature of the polychrome-painted furniture is the use of narritive scenes. The local craftsmen especially used biblical prints as their source. Most of these scenes derive from the Old Testament as can be seen on lot 262. The cabinet's left door depicts the scene of Saul in search of the lost donkey of his father (I Sam: 9.3) (fig.1). On the right door we see the anointment of Saul by Samuel as King of Israel (I Sam: 10.1) (fig.2). These scenes were taken from the printbook of Pieter Schut which was one of the most commonly used sources. This printbook was first published in 1659. The prints were not only invented by Schut himself, he was also inspired by artists like Maarten de Vos and Maarten van Heemskerck. Polychrome-painted furniture was again en vogue at the end of the 19th Century when there was a revival of the the 17th Century Dutch Interior. Furniture was painted in the style of the 17th and 18th Century, and entire Hindelooper period rooms could be seen at National Exhibitions. An important company in those days was Roosje based in Hindeloopen. It is clear that in retrospect painted furniture enjoyed great admiration throughout the ages. (J. Jas, Tot cieraet en gebruyk. De collectie beschilderd meubilair van het Zuiderzeemuseum, (unpublished), Zuiderzeemuseum 1990; Pieter H. Schut, Toneel ofte Vertooch der Bybelsche Historien, Cierlyck in 't koper gemaeckt door Pieter H. Schut, ende in druck uytgegeven door Nicolaes Visscher, tot Amsterdam Anno 1659., Amsterdam 1659).

A Dutch polychrome-decorated cabinet-on-stand

HINDELOOPEN, EARLY 18TH CENTURY

Details

A Dutch polychrome-decorated cabinet-on-stand
Hindeloopen, early 18th Century
The rectangular moulded cornice above a plain frieze painted with scrolling foliage, above a pair of doors, the left with Saul in search of the lost donkey of his father, the right with the anointment of Saul by Samuel as King of Israel, enclosing a plain interior with three shelves and four drawers, the base with a drawer, above turned and facetted tapering legs joined by a shaped X-shaped stretcher terminating in bun feet, restorations
197.5cm. high x 149cm. wide x 53.5cm. deep

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