SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY BERLIN OR DRESDEN

Details

AN ITALIAN GILT-BRASS-MOUNTED ROSEWOOD AND WALNUT BUREAU-CABINET
SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY BERLIN OR DRESDEN
The arched open pediment with gilt-brass urn finials, above a pair of mirrored doors with gently bevelled plates, enclosing a removable interior fitted with walnut-lined drawers, pigeon holes and adjustable folio slides arranged around a central cupboard door, above a pair of candle slides, the writing slope revealing stepped drawers and a removable compartment with secret drawers above a sliding well, the base with a pair of cupboard doors enclosing a shelf and a pair of short drawers, on ebonised bun feet
100¾ in. (256 cm.) high; 41 in. (104 cm.) wide; 26 in. (66 cm.) deep

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

The superb craftsmanship visible in the fine dove-tailing and precise fitting of drawers, slides and secret compartments, the gentle bevelling of the remarkably large mirror plates, as well as in the tooling of the beautifully detailed gilt-metal mounts and refined locking mechanism points towards the work of a highly experienced workshop, possibly that of a court cabinet-maker. And while it clearly takes its overall form from the Anglo-Dutch model this bureau cabinet is clearly not the product of either of those two countries. Related bureau-cabinets of similar proportions, veneered in rosewood and contrasted with bold - similarly English-inspired - gilt-bronze mounts were made in the workshops of the Berlin court-cabinet maker Martin Böhme (fl. 1723-1746), that of Martin Schuhmacher, cabinet-maker at the Ansbach Residenz (fl. circa 1720-1780) and related examples were also recorded in the inventories of the Royal Saxon palaces in Dresden. However; the use of poplar for some of the interior, including the secret drawers hidden behind the removable compartment of the bureau section, as well as chestnut for some of the larger drawer linings, points to a more southern country of origin and the most likely regions are Tuscany and the Piedmont and it is likely that this piece was produced there by a German craftsman.

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