Table cabinet
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1570
Materials
Walnut, oak and deal construction, fruitwood, sycamore, beech marquetry inlay, brass
Measurements
68.5 x 109.1 x 45.1 cm
Place of origin
Augsburg
Order this imageCollection
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
NT 514375
Summary
A walnut and marquetry table cabinet, German, Augsburg, circa 1570. Of rectangular form profusely inlaid with ash, sycamore, maple, beech and fruitwood, depicting figures and animals in landscapes, architecture, fruit and foliage. The fall opens to reveal a fitted interior of twelve small drawers and four cupboards each inlaid with architectural scenes and scrolling foliage centered around a winged cherub with other animals. The top also hinged and opening to reveal a well with conforming inlaid designs to the inside lid and the well with crossbanded and line inlaid rectangular panels.
Full description
From the mid-sixteenth century, cabinetmakers in the south German city of Augsburg specialized in table cabinets intended for the storage of small, precious objects such as exotic shells, medals, jewellery and statuettes. These luxury cabinets were decorated entirely with colourful marquetry depicting fantastic townscapes, classical ruins, rabbits, dogs, cloaked figures and a range of ornamental motifs drawn from contemporary German prints. James Weedon (Oct. 2017)
Provenance
Lord William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (?) Bequeathed to the National Trust by Huttleston Rogers Broughton, 1st Lord Fairhaven (1896-1966) with the house and the rest of the contents.