Lot Essay
This boogkabinet was probably executed just after the middle of the 18th Century, at which stage Dutch cabinet-making captured the essence of the international rococo. Matching burr-walnut veneers from the knarls were carefully chosen in order to harmonise with the foliate carving and `picturesque' ormolu mounts. Interestingly, the sides and interior are vereered with plain walnut veneers from the trunk. Obviously, burr-walnut was considerably more expensive and had to be used economically.
This period can also be regarded as a transitional phase in Dutch furniture-making as several cabinet-makers started to experiment with the use of mahogany, which was introduced considerably later than in England. Cabinet-makers who were in the offset of their career in the 1750s or early 1760s were possibly the first to use this new exotic timber, whereas the senior generation probably did not venture into this development. The sales of the contents of some of the older Amsterdam cabinet-makers, such as Abraham Walles (ca. 1686-1752), Michael Dorik (ca.1685-1756) and Dirk van Brussel (ca.1699-1762), whose workshops were liquidated in this period, have indeed pointed out that walnut was virtually the only timber they employed. (R.J. Baarsen, De Amsterdamse meubelloterijen, Zwolle, 1993, p.52.)
See illustration
This period can also be regarded as a transitional phase in Dutch furniture-making as several cabinet-makers started to experiment with the use of mahogany, which was introduced considerably later than in England. Cabinet-makers who were in the offset of their career in the 1750s or early 1760s were possibly the first to use this new exotic timber, whereas the senior generation probably did not venture into this development. The sales of the contents of some of the older Amsterdam cabinet-makers, such as Abraham Walles (ca. 1686-1752), Michael Dorik (ca.1685-1756) and Dirk van Brussel (ca.1699-1762), whose workshops were liquidated in this period, have indeed pointed out that walnut was virtually the only timber they employed. (R.J. Baarsen, De Amsterdamse meubelloterijen, Zwolle, 1993, p.52.)
See illustration