Strong box
attributed to Gerrit Jensen (fl.c.1680 – London 1715)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1675
Materials
oak veneered with kingwood and olivewood parquetry, brass mounted
Measurements
94 x 66 x 49 cm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1139747.1
Summary
A strongbox, circa 1675, veneered with olivewood, kingwood or cocuswood parquetry. Equipped with a complex locking mechanism, the top lid opens to reveal a deep compartment lined with red satin, fitted with small oak drawers to each side, raised on a stand with a frieze drawer on turned walnut baluster legs, joined by a stretcher, on turned feet. According the standard of workmanship, this furniture was produced in London, most probably by a Dutch craftsman. As from 1672-1683 large payments were made by the Lauderdales to the cabinet maker Gerrit Jensen, the present piece can probably be attributed to him.
Provenance
As mentioned by Peter Thornton, the inventory of 1683 describes a 'box with an extraordinary Lock' in the Duchess's Bedchamber. Acquired in 1948 by HM Government when Sir Lyonel, 4th Bt (1854 – 1952) and Sir Cecil Tollemache, 5th Bt (1886 – 1969) presented Ham House to the National Trust, and entrusted to the care of the Victoria & Albert Museum, until 1990, when returned to the care of the National Trust, and to which ownership was transferred in 2002.
Makers and roles
attributed to Gerrit Jensen (fl.c.1680 – London 1715), cabinetmaker
References
Baarsen 2013: Reinier Baarsen, 'Seventeenth-Century European Cabinet-Making at Ham House' in Christopher Rowell (ed.), Ham House 400 Years of Collecting and Patronage, Yale, 2013, pp.194-203, fig 187-188 Thornton and Tomlin 1980 Peter Thornton, and Maurice Tomlin. “The Furnishing and Decoration of Ham House.” Furniture History, The Journal of The Furniture History Society Vol.XVI, 1980, fig 67