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Lot Essay
It was natural that Venice, with its extensive trade contacts with the East, should be one of the first artistic centres of Europe to imitate the fabled wares of the Orient, most particularly lacquer. This cabinet is decorated with delicate foliate gilt-japanned tendrils, inspired both by the lacquer boxes of Persia and also by the damascene work produced by Eastern metalworkers through which gold and silver were inlaid into steel in intricate patterns.
Related examples, with a comparable architectural facade and use of pietra dura panels, are in the Palazzo Quirinale, Rome (illustrated in A. Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Patrimonio Artistico del Quirinale: I Mobili Italiani, Milan, 1996, pp. 42-3) and in M. Riccardi-Cubitt, Le Cabinet, Paris, 1993, p. 75.
A comparable cabinet was sold Christie's Amsterdam, June 27, 2006, lot 112.
Related examples, with a comparable architectural facade and use of pietra dura panels, are in the Palazzo Quirinale, Rome (illustrated in A. Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Patrimonio Artistico del Quirinale: I Mobili Italiani, Milan, 1996, pp. 42-3) and in M. Riccardi-Cubitt, Le Cabinet, Paris, 1993, p. 75.
A comparable cabinet was sold Christie's Amsterdam, June 27, 2006, lot 112.