Baroque Cabinet, Mid-18th Century

Large baroque cabinet featuring two doors, two drawers, and compressed bun feet. The high base and wide cornice are intricately profiled. Chamfered corners and raised panels adorn th...

Single-door Baroque half cabinet featuring a serpentine carved apron and legs adorned with volute motifs. The body is decorated with dynamically shaped, profiled panels. The cream wh...

A so-called Maria Theresa cabinet (furniture type named after the Austrian empress) or Baroque hall cabinet from the 18th century. On ball feet standing two-door coniferous corpus...

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...