16th Century Spanish Vargueño Cabinet with Limoges Enamel Drawer Fronts

a 17th century Spanish vargueño / traveling cabinet with intricately inlaid top, sides, and small drawers, fruitwood, Italy, 17th century

Handsome and dignified, this antique Provincial cabinet combines understated simplicity with a beautiful auburn finish. Made in Portugal in the 16th century, paneled doors unlock wit...

A fine nasrid or post-nasrid fall-front wooden cabinet Spain, late 15th/16th century on four squat bulbous feet, of rectangular form, the front and top inlaid with eight-pointed star...

An exceptional 16th Century Spanish walnut and boxwood table cabinet from Catalonia, also known as an arquilla. The fall is richly inlaid with bone, creating a decorative scene of tw...

On the left post of the lower body, is written the date 1596 in a cartouche This cabinet has two bodies. The upper part, set back, is moulded and carved. At the bottom, the cabine...

Former collection Altounian At the beginning of the reign of Henri II (1547-1559) the furniture’s ornamentation evolves. The few medieval motifs that were still used are eventually relinquished. Furniture becomes more sober showcasing moulded panels and perfect architecture. Cabinet-makers use ornaments such as curved fluted or plain columns, feather quills, roses or winged putti heads. High-relief carving becomes more scarce and compositions lighter. To that end cabinet-makers draw inspiration from Fontainebleau motifs filtering them and adapting them to French taste. During this period cabinet-makers turn into a kind of architects. Indeed the architectural balance of furniture is the centre of their concerns. The study of Antic formulas is then a necessity. From this care given to proportions appear refined cabinets with pure lines. This style is characteristic of the reign of Henri II and disappears soon after under the regency of Catherine de Medici (1560-1574) when an abundance of high and low-relief ornaments comes back on furnitures. This two-bodies cabinet...