DATED 1839/40, BY KAROL GRUBER

Details

A HUNGARIAN BIEDERMEIER WALNUT AND PARCEL GILT CYLINDER BUREAU-CABINET
Dated 1839/40, by Karol Gruber
The raised architectural breakfront superstructure with molded pediment and cornice above a central fall-front enclosing a mirrored arcaded compartment flanked by Corinthian columns and further flanked by short drawers over fitted cabinets above three drawers, the base with a roll top enclosing drawers above a fabric lined hinged writing surface opening to a further compartment above a pair of panelled doors on a plinth base, signed on the reverse of the writing surface E szerenyt, mint remekmunkat keszitette/gruber karoly/locsen 1830-evben/hillay neit fooyindsiumi hittanar/1879 and inscribed in pencil and in ink with further names and dates, possibly the subsequent owners of the cabinet up to 1934
76in. (193cm.) high, 52in. (132cm.) wide, 25in. (635cm) deep

Provenance

Karol Gruber, submitted as his masterpiece for entry into the furniture guild in Locsen in 1840.

Possibly Hillay Neit (?) circa 1879

Possibly Dr. Rohry Frigzcs (?) circa 1914

Possibly Koepla Brokosegul (?) circa 1936

Lot Essay

This spectacular bureau-cabinet is a rare example of an apprentice's Meisterstück or masterpiece which is both signed and dated. Another hidden pencil inscription proudly records the date of completion of the cabinet as 8 October 1840. Locsen (now Levoca in today's Slovakia) was a trading town in Hungary, part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The imposing architectural form of this secretaire cabinet clearly relates to contemporary German and Austrian examples, for instance a Berlin secretaire in the Künstegewerbe Museum, Berlin illustrated in G. Himmelheber, Biedermeier furniture, 1974, fig. 79.