18th Century and Earlier Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets

A rare carved walnut wardrobe opening with four door-leaves and two drawers in the lower part. The doors bear architectural views in low reliefs, fluted pilasters and Ionic capitals. Upper Body Two door-leaves with carved architectural perspectives open the wardrobe framed by three fluted pilasters with Ionic capitals. Each door-leaf depict two semi-circular arcades whose cornice and base shows a central vanishing point. Likewise the pavement’s lines act for the artisan as a way to create depth. The vaulting instead leads us to think the vanishing point has to be situated where the handle is, between the two complementaries reliefs. The elegant moulded belt hides an internal secret space, accessible through a moveable plank in the upper body. Lower Body Two door-leaves identical to those of the upper body framed by three fluted pilasters with Doric capitals. The base of the wardrobe opens with two large drawers. The sides also bear panels depicting architectural perspectives. The external pilasters share their Ionic capital with the facade’s pilasters. Thus we can observe on the wardrobe’s sides the capital’s lateral parts with the elegant volute specific to the Ionic order. This palace wardrobe is topped by an overlapping cornice standing on three consoles for the facade and two consoles on each sides. Placed right above the pilasters each console are adorned by fully expanded leaves. During the 15th century a major interest for architecture and perspective studies arises and influences patrons tastes. The work of great theorists such as Leon Battista Alberti...

Outstanding Italian 18' century walnut, parquetry bureau cabinet fruitwood inlaid with scrolling foliage, The upper section with a shaped carved cresting centered by a cartouche-sha...

Circa 1750 early George III period slant front bureau desk. Wood referred to at the time as "Red Walnut", with oak drawer liners. Original, fine cut-work bat-wing brass hardware. Ori...

A Rare Louis XV Ormolu-Mounted Tulipwood and Chinese Lacquer cabinet, c. 1750 (Regence Period) A truly magnificent, monumental, and one of a kind cabinet, painted throughout with gi...

George II Mahogany slant top desk, 18th century. With a single board rectangular top, single board drop front, interior with letter slots and drawers with central prospect door flank...

Spanish desk (“bargueño”) in walnut. 17th century with “bridge-shapped”. Decorated on the exterior with metal applications (open-work, textile background) and bow handles with centr...

Georgian Mahogany serpentine front bachelors chest resting on tall ogee bracket feet 1790-1800. Nicely figured solid Cuban Mahogany molded edge top over a pull out brushing slide a...

This is an antique gentleman's bureau. A fine English, walnut writing desk or secretaire, dating to the Georgian period, circa 1760. Wonderful Georgian example, with a delightful v...

This small country Chippendale cupboard is finely crafted. The22. pair of two raised panel doors with outer molding. The cupboard has crown molding and rests on a base with apron. The brass handle pull and hatch lock are original. The hinges are mortised. The interior paint is newly added.

Renaissance cabinet from Burgundy Or Lyon Region Origin : Burgundy Or Lyon, France Period : Second Half 16th Century, C. 1580 Height : 209cm Length : 184cm Depth : 71cm Good condition Walnut wood, original keys and keyholes Around the middle of the 16th century the conception and ornamentation of French furniture evolves. The start of major building projects, such as the castle of Fontainebleau, gives artists a new impulse. Inventive and rich formulas are developed there, before spreading to all of Europe thanks to engravings and printed leaflets. Furthermore, Italian artists working on such construction sites bring French artists and patrons a renewed taste for the Antique. Regarding the art of furnitures, the most complex scenes and figures are drawn from illustrated books, ornament and emblem compendiums and engraving compilations. Rather than copying those images the artisans feed their inspiration and decline the motifs in numerous variations. The ornamental grammar marks a return to the Antique : palm leaf, acanthus, egg-and-dart, greek, scroll, fluted pilaster… It is in Primaticcio’s and Il Rosso’s stuccos made around 1540-1550 that we have to look for the origin of leather cut-outs, masks, chimaeras, harpies, sheathed figures, fruit and flower garlands that soon enrich every pieces of French furniture. The structure of the pieces of furniture also evolve thanks to the re discovery of Antique architectures, rigorously used as a model. This cabinet presents an imposing structure and a rich and original decor exemplifying the production of the late 16th century, infused with Italian, Antique and Fontainebleau influences. It stands on a moulded base ornate with palm leaves. It opens with four door-leaves and two drawers in the belt. Six whimsical terms divide the facade. The lower body is horizontally divided by three sheathed female terms. The two standing on the lateral posts are topped with fruits while the body is covered by acanthus leaves carved with precision, belted at the waist. The term standing on the central door-jamb is crowned with laurel leaves and is draped in the Antique fashion. A wincing mask hides the key hole. The two door-leaves are centred by a beautiful mask carved in a strong relief. They wear stylised feathered headdress and are set on draperies. Straps, leather scrolls, acanthus leaves and a shell are spread around the masks. The recessed panels are secured in frames ornate with acanthus leaves. The belt is flanked by two large mouldings enriched with variations of acanthus leaves. The drawers are carved with choux bourguignons and palm leaf motifs minutely executed. The consoles between each drawer bear tormented wincing masks, showing horns as if they were fauns or imps. The upper body is framed by two male terms characterised by a strong and nervous musculature, their manhood hidden by drapes secured thanks to a winged lion head. The term on the left appears to be younger and is wincing while the one on the right has a beard. The central female term brings contrast with her youth and sensuality. As it is the case on the lower body, the key hole is hidden behind the mouth of a faun’s mask placed on the drapes barely covering the intimacy of the caryatid. The panels of the upper body present an idealised architecture comprising pilasters and sinuous broken pediments. The pilasters are flanked by two satyrs with goat legs. In the centre appears an important lion mask. The terms of the upper body support the cornice. The entablature carries palm leaves and roses alternating as well as an egg-and-dart frieze. The cornice is adorned with acanthus motifs. On the sides, the carving is executed flat. A central rose is surrounded by scrolls, flowers and choux bourguignons. We can admire the variety of the elements employed. The artist vary with great genius many different ornamental motifs : palm leaf, egg-and-dart, laurel leaf, roses, scrolls … But the artist went even further as each profile and each face is individualised and presents different features. You can take a look at the faces of the satyrs flanking the upper body’s panels. The talent of the artist is undeniable. It makes no doubt the patron who commissioned this cabinet was an aesthete looking for the greatest quality. The artist who authored this cabinet had a great mastery of composition both in the general design and in the individual panels. They probably drew inspiration from engravings and drawings made especially for the making of this piece of furniture or not. They seem to be familiar with the style of Jacques Androuet du Cerceau. Indeed, we can find in Du Cerceau’s engravings the same juxtapositions of leather cut-outs, masks and fruits. The terms and caryatids used on the facade could very well be inspired by his work as well. The cabinet-maker was also undoubtedly observant of Hugues Sambin, the most famous cabinet-maker and sculptor in the Burgundy of the time. Like Du Cerceau, Sambin left an important ensemble of models particularly useful for the design of cabinets. His publication De l’Oeuvre de la diversité des termes dont on use en architecture (1572) was an essential book for every artisan. All the motifs testify of the artisan’s high knowledge of forms as well as the precision of their tools : super imposition of ornamental elements, foliages, architectural cut-outs, flat and high reliefs alternating, palm leaves inscribed in circular spaces, wincing faces. It is also a testimony of the artisan’s familiarity with Italian and Fontainebleau productions. Because of the proficiency of the cabinet-maker in so many different models, this cabinet truly is a master-piece authored by the hand of an authentic master. The generous carvings executed with great rigour and virtuosity evoke an origin close to Burgundy and Lyon workshops. This cabinet was made by a master of the region during the Second French Renaissance. Literature BOCCADOR Jacqueline, Le mobilier français du Moyen-Âge à la Renaissance, Édition d’art Morelle Mayot, 1996 BOS Agnès (dir.), Mobilier du Moyen âge et de la Renaissance, La collection du musée du Louvre, Louvre éditions...

George III mahogany secretary, late 18th century. Pediment with dental molding, two glass doors with through mullions, two adjustable shelves and four drawers on the bottom, a central single board slant top, interior with central prospect door flanked by 4 letter slots and 7 drawers, below are 4 graduated drawers with cock beaded moldings, all drawers with locks stamped "Sam Hall...

A 18th Century French Louis XIII style cabinet, made of solid walnut with two raised panel doors. Interior has one two shelves, the bottom one is adjustable. Iron hardware. Working l...

The deep patina of the warm pine in this corner cabinet is a reflection of generations of use, and is crowned by a lovely "bonnet" which was a traditional Swedish style element of th...

A French Louis XV period mid-18th century walnut buffet à deux-corps from the Loire Valley with bonnet top. Born in the exquisite Loire Valley region that shelters some of the most a...

Circa 1790 George III bowfront chest of drawers, English. Four long graduated drawers. Shaped apron compliments the form & the elegant French splay feet. The drawers & top edge outli...

An exceptionally beautiful marquetry inlaid commode 'à Ressaut' opening with two wide drawers, and crafted in the Louis XVI style. This very decorative late 18th century chest of dr...

This French 18th century armoire in the Louis XV style has a fantastic dark oak finish and gorgeous hand carved details. A shaped cornice sits above elaborately paneled doors on long...

Beautiful architectural Louis XVI (Gustavian) chest of drawers from the late 18th century. Light green body with a faux marble-painted top and an elegant carved dentil molding beneat...

Mid-18th century oak dresser base from England. The top is made from richly grained boards with fabulous color. The top has a molded edge supporting it, which follows down to panel...

Danish 18th century painted Baroque 3-drawer chest with later chinoiserie decorations, brass hardware and locks.

Large antique William and Mary burr walnut Herringbone inlaid two part bureau having a quality burr walnut Herringbone inlaid top above a burr walnut full opening to reveal a fitted ...

Italian Neo-Classical (18th Century) commode cabinet with 3 pullout drawers featuring brass ring escutcheons, 2 keyholes on the bottom drawer having marquetry overall inlaid with exo...

18th century oak sideboard from England with a plank top, following down to hand paneled sides and a single candle drawer in the front, flanked by cushion paneled drawers. There are applied turnings flanking the drawers as well, for added interest. All of the drawers have hand carved beaded...

Elegant Swedish Rococo corner display cabinet in two parts, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship and refined details. Crafted from pine wood and painted in a soft rococo blue. Beautifu...

18th century walnut armoire from France. The arched crown is wonderfully molded and sits atop a grand case. The doors have arches at the top, and are raised paneled with central ov...

18th century armoire in olive wood and ash. Circa 1740 armoire in joined construction. Gorgeous burl olive wood apron, door panels and upper frieze. Ash as secondary wood. Three inte...

An Extremely Fine and Very Important 17th Century Japanese Lacquer Cabinet on French Giltwood Stand of Regence Period circa 1680-1690 Provenance Likely acquired by Herman Willem ...

18th Century Italian Painted Wardrobe from Convent. Two-part wardrobe, with late 19th century restoration and addition of large deep open-face drawers.

Danish 18th century baroque oak wood chest of drawers with serpentine front. In 2 parts. Features a rectangular grey painted top with serpentine front, sitting above four conforming ...

A Swedish Gustavian period painted wood wall hanging corner cabinet from the late 18th century, with blue paint, single door and weathered appearance. Created in Sweden during the la...

This impressive walnut chest of drawers, dating to the late 18th or early 19th century, reflects the solidity and elegance characteristic of antique Venetian furniture...

French Country 18th Century Late Regency, Early Louis xv Walnut Buffet. A beautifully patinated solid walnut, two drawers, with storage beneath. the piece is nearly 300 years old a...

17th century antique quality oak bureau boasting an outstanding interior and having a quality oak fall with a reading slope opening to reveal an incredible serpentine shaped interior...

Circa 1780-1810 American slant-front desk of well figured solid flame birch, cherry, and birch. Classic mix of woods. Yellow pine secondary wood, typical of the upper South (Kentucky...

18th century French Louis XV Commode. Stunning period 18th century French Louis XV three-drawer commode, chest of drawers or credenza with bronze hardware. This shapely French commode or...

Charming 18th-century Baroque sideboard featuring curved doors and beveled side panels. The newly applied yellow finish with an antique patina highlights the elegant design. Hand-pai...

A beautiful 18th century French buffet/ sideboard in cherry wood with rounded bevel-edged, rectangular top resting on a base with two drawers over two cabinet doors. This graceful bu...

This exquisite 18th-century Italian commode showcases the timeless elegance of neoclassical design, combining form and function with masterful craftsmanship. Crafted from rich walnut...

18th century Folk Art wall shelf, Island of Amager, Denmark Shelf is decorated with carved figures.

Rustic 18th century country French provincial two-part farmhouse dresser with a plate rack and crafted from 1 inch thick pine planks. The plate rack...

Magnificent Louis XV period wedding cabinet in molded and carved walnut, opening two beautiful triple-paneled doors in scalloped burl walnut, a large drawer with lock in the lower pa...

A striking late 18th century Directoire chest of drawers from the Veneto region, crafted in solid walnut with clean, architectural lines and refined detailing. This Italian commode f...

Very fine 18th century Italian, probably Venetian three-drawer commode, the top faux painted to simulate Sienna marble, over three graduated drawers festooned with floral and ribbon ...

Unusually large size sideboard with beautiful original 'cayenne' color lacquer. Black lacquer on the sides. 3 pairs of doors and 6 drawers. From the Shanxi province, China. Dating ...

This extraordinary chest of drawers showcases the excellent taste in form and material use, featuring solid walnut wood with beautiful grain and a warm tone that give it an elegant a...

A George II Lacquered-Brass and Chinese Coromandel Cabinet on Stand, Cabinet and stand mid 18th Century, the panels early 18th Century Provenance: Walter, 5th Duke of Buccleuch...

As soon as 1540 France's second Renaissance is in the making, intimately linked to the rediscovery of the Antique world. The development of the printing and engraving industry allows the spread of artworks and models in many cities and countries. The Italian influence can be perceived in every artistic field. While the French king entrust the most talented Italian artists with major projects such as Il Rosso or Primaticcio in Fontainebleau, French artists also travel to Italy to form themselves to this new style. In Italy they get acquainted with the work of Leo Battista Alberti the first to theorize perspective (De Pictura, 1435-36) and architecture (De re oedificatoria, 1541). Those two publications would have a revolutionary impact on arts. Furniture is marked by the work of the most famous Italian architects of the time as well as French architects. Indeed Philibert de l'Orme competes with Alberti and by the end of his life publishes several treaties including one devoted to a theory of architecture (1567). Unfortunately he would not live to complete the second volume. In this treaty he expresses his interest for mathematical norms applied to architecture, copied from the Antique. His journeys in Italy allowed him to accumulate the most sophisticated references. Jean Bullant, another architect of great talent also theorizes his practice. He establishes rules characterizing Greco-Roman art staying faithful to Vitruvius. Following this new inspiration the structure of furniture evolves. From then on appear columns, capitals, cornices, friezes and architraves. The ornamentation uses this inspiration as well with egg-and-dart, palm leaf and rose adorning the most beautiful pieces. In Lyon, crossroad where meet merchants from everywhere those new experiments are welcomed. Lyon florishing printing industry allows the spreading of models and treaties essential to the artist's work. Thus the first publication of Vitruvius' De Architectura in France would be printed in Lyon in 1532. Artists from Lyon rediscover and familiarize themselves with the Antique knowledge very early. They adopt those new ideas and use them in their own creations. Lyon cabinet-makers re interpret Antique architecture and Italian Renaissance palaces to give their pieces a pure and harmonious architectural structure. Grooved pilasters are particularly favored. They are topped by capitals of diverse orders always respecting the sequencing with simpler ones for the lower levels and the richest ones on the higher levels. As for the ornamentation, one of the great distinctiveness of Lyon workshops remains the architectural perspective illusions, drawing inspiration from Tuscany. True masterpiece of the Second French Renaissance this important cabinet illustrates Lyon workshops' taste for fine Italian architecture inspired by Antiquity. An architectural perspective of great quality is treated in symmetry on each panel. This two-bodied cabinet without recess stands on four rectangular feet. The base comprises a molding, a palm leaf frieze and is bordered by a braid. The lower body is divided by three grooved pilasters with Tuscan capitals framing two door-leaves. The two panels are encircled by a moudled frame with palm leaves. They are finely carved with a decor of fantasized architecture depicting an Italian Renaissance palace erected symmetrically on each side of a grooved pilaster. On the ground floor a door opens through a stilted arch while the stories are opened with mullioned windows, dormers and occuli. Two large pegged-boss cladded pillars support the entablature enriched by a palm leaf frieze upon which stands an arch whose coffered intrados is centred by a rose. Behind this arch a pyramid appears, standing in front of a second facade with a window topped by a broken curvilinear pediment under a cul-de-four with a shell. The checker flooring gives depth to the low-reliefs creating vanishing points structuring the panels and guiding the eye of the observer. A thin laurel braid highlights the belt of the cabinet where are located two drawers. Their facades are adorned by palm leaves in hoops. The upper body is encircled with palm leaves. The same ternary division as in the lower body appears. However, the pilasters are topped by Ionic capitals with volutes and egg-and-dart. The door-leaves are framed with flowers. On the panels the artist has designed another architectural decor. On the foreground open two arches on top of grooved pilasters with rectangular capitals adorned with palm leaves. The arches are enriched with braids and the coffered intrados bears a decor of roses. The spandrels also bear a flower decor. In the background another arcature hosts a fluted grooved column topped with double basket acanthus capital, characteristic of Corinthian order. The triangular pediment is interrupted by a choux bourguignon. A large cornice crowns the cabinet. It stands on pilasters and forms an entablature comprising a palm leaf frieze and an egg-and-dart, triglyph and palm leaf cornice. The cabinet's sides have also been carefully considered. The lower body's panels are enriched with an arch rising above a broken pediment portico hosting a twisted column. Flowers garnish the spandrels. An architectural facade completes the decor. The upper body's panels present two arches supported by a facade opened with dormers and mullioned windows as well as cartouches (one bears the inscription 1580 dating the cabinet) suggesting the interior of an Italian Renaissance palace, confirmed by the chandeliers. The flooring leads our gaze to a second arch with a broken curvilinear pediment where stands a flower vase. This arch opens onto a perspective of another facade along a road. Inside the cabinet, on the lower body door-leaves appear two designs. On the right door is depicted a Crucifixion. Saint Mary and Saint John flank the Christ on the cross. In the bottom part is inscribed « Dure uiator abis nihil haec spectacula curas / Pendenti cum sis unica cura Deo. / Tota suo moriente dolet natura Magistro. / Nil qui solus eras caussa dolenda doles. ». The signature [Christoff Swartz Monachiensis pinx[it] / Ioa[nnes] Sadeler sculp[it]] tells us it was made by Johan Sadeler I (1550-1600) after Christoph Schwartz (1548-1592). This engraving belongs to an ensemble depicting the Passion of Christ Johan Sadeler executed in 1589 after an altar piece painted by Christoph Schwartz for the private chapel of Renée of Loraine, wife of Duke William V of Bavaria. This altar piece made of nine copper panels has been destroyed during the 19th century. The Crucifixion panel once in the centre of the altar piece is the only one that survived and is today kept in Munich's Alte Pinakothek. On the left door appears Saint Francis receiving the stigmata. The inscription says : « Signastidomine Servum Tuum. Franciscum. Signis Redemptionis Nostrae ». This Renaissance cabinet with an architectural decor appearing as much in the structure faithful to Antique rules...

An American Queen Anne maple highboy, circa 1750. Two pieces. Provenance: Sweringen Brother's Roundwood Manor estate auction October 28, 1938...

On offer here is an antique four-door cupboard, in Dutch, named “Kussenkast”, that was made in the Northern Netherlands in the late 17th century. This cupboard takes its name from th...

GEORGE III MAHOGANY SECRETARY DESK WITH GLAZED UPPER BOOKCASE England, circa 1780 formerly with Ginsburg & Levy Item # 401HYF25Q A rich and vibrant secretary desk from the late yea...

A rare cabinet red lacquer with original carvings and well-preserved leaf gold decorations. Black lacquer on the sides of the cabinet. A decorative and beautiful cabinet from Shanxi...

Useful 18th century Swedish two door pine linen cupboard. 1790. Code: 8865 Dimensions: W: 45.5" (115.6 cm) H: 48" (121.9 cm) D: 19.5" (49.5 cm)

Elegant Lombard dresser in the Louis XVI style, made in the last quarter of the 18th century, characterized by fine marquetry work and harmonious proportions. Its measurements are: w...

A stunning 18th century Cedenza from Bologna, Italy. Soundly constructed from painted wood in scantonata form, handsome edge finish to the top plank, a single drawer, four doors, int...

Grand 18th century Spanish armario or wardrobe armoire constructed from oak. Features a coffered case fronted by two large doors. This massive cabinet made in Spain features beautifu...

Early American George III Mahogany chest of drawers, 18th-19th century Fine antique chest of drawers. The top two drawers stack on the bottom two drawers. The back is unfinished p...

Circa 1780 French Louis XVI period marble top commode or chest of drawers. Mahogany with superb figured grey & white marble top conforming to the columnar form of the chest. Well mou...

The best English Queen Anne / George I burl walnut secretary bureau bookcase in two sections. The upper arched top portion with a molded and domed cornice inset with mirrored glass a...

Unusual Antique George III quality mahogany serpentine shaped sideboard having a quality serpentine shaped mahogany top with satinwood inlaid stringing above a bow fronted middle dra...

Elizabethan period, two-piece (top and bottom) antique Jacobean oak cabinet or cupboard with inset two-doors above and two-doors below, both runni...