a french walnut cabinet

LATE 19TH CENTURY

Details

a french walnut cabinet
Late 19th Century
The scrolling broken pediment centred by a panelled socle with a lion mast, above Greek key lapetted and Vitruvian scroll borders, the breakfront frieze carved with winged putti holding floral garlands and centred by a shield, above a door carved with an extensive scrolling foliage centred by a butterfly, enclosing a sating-birch interior with a secret drawer with a pierced panelled front above an arcaded open recess supported by spirally turned columns above six variously sized panelled drawers, flanked to either side by a conformingly carved door, the left door enclosing a fitted interior with fifteen graduated panelled drawers, the right door enclosing an open interior with four graduated shaped shelves, the open inverted-breakfront stand with a central frieze secretaire-drawer, enclosing a gray baize-lined writing surface and two small drawers centred by an open compartment, flanked to either side by a short drawer, supported by foliate carved tapering square columns with satyr's mask capitals, the panelled back divided in three sections, carved with roundels within strapwork and foliage, above a moulded plinth carved with bead-and-reel, one drawer of the interior, inscribed BdeZdeNduH 86 avenue de Bois/Paris
238cm. high x 130cm. wide x 58cm. deep

Lot Essay

The inscription on one of the drawers of the interior of this cabinet indicates that this piece was probably originally part of the furnishings of the Paris residence of the Van Zuylens on 86, Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, and may have come to Kasteel de Haar in 1903, when seven crates of 'used' furniture arrived from Paris. Van Zuylen made a clear distinction in his correspondence between 'old' furniture or furniture which had already had been in use by the family and newly-acquired pieces as the former were exempt of import duties. On 31 July 1900, for instance, Van Zuylen writes: 'Les meubles qui sont en douane ont été 14 ans chez moi à Paris.

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